African-American stereotypes

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This article discusses stereotypes of blacks of African descent present in American culture.

For examples of fictional black characters who have been perceived as stereotypes see: Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture.

Contents 1 History 2 Historical archetypes 2.1 Blackface archetype of minstrel shows 2.2 "Sambo" archetype 2.3 "Mammy" archetype 2.4 "Magic Negro" archetype 3 Stereotypical portrayal in the media 3.1 Early stereotypes 3.2 Modern stereotypes 4 Criminal stereotyping of African Americans 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

The perception of black people has been closely tied to their place in the United States historically. In early American history, the primary reason for Africans in the colonies was the slave trade. By 1750, blacks accounted for half the population of Virginia.^[1]

[edit] Historical archetypes

[edit] Blackface archetype of minstrel shows

Minstrel shows portrayed and lampooned blacks in stereotypical and often disparaging ways, as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, joyous, and musical.

Blackface is a style of theatrical makeup that originated in the United States, used to affect the countenance of an iconic, racist American archetype — that of the darky or coon. Blackface also refers to a genre of musical and comedic theatrical presentation in which blackface makeup is worn. White blackface performers in the past used burnt cork and later greasepaint or shoe polish to blacken their skin and exaggerate their lips, often wearing woolly wigs, gloves, tailcoats, or ragged clothes to complete the transformation. Later, black artists also performed in blackface.

[edit] "Sambo" archetype

Main article: Sambo (racial term)

This stereotype gained notoriety through the 1898 children's book The Story of Little Black Sambo, by Helen Bannerman. It told the story of a boy named Sambo, who outwitted a group of hungry tigers. The book is considered a racial slur in the United States.

[edit] "Mammy" archetype

Main article: Mammy archetype

Characteristics of "Mammy" include dark skin, a heavyset frame and large bust, and overall matronly appearance, complete with an apron around her waist and a kerchief on her head. She is overweight and dressed in gaudy clothing, as well as genial, churchgoing, and spiritual to the point of delusion — "Lord have mercy" is a common phrase associated with this archetype. She is compliant in the face of white authority, as in the Aunt Jemima and Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind's Mammy character, standards of this archetype.

The term Mammy is a variant of mother, used most prominently by blacks in the South during and soon after slavery. Whites used the term, as well, to refer to black female slaves, servants and caregivers, as well as a general term for black women. When in common use by whites, the word was often used sentimentally, but many blacks considered it patronizing or insulting. Today, the term mammy, when applied to a black woman, is considered highly pejorative.

[edit] "Magic Negro" archetype

Main article: Magical Negro

The "Magic Negro" refers to a stock character designed to support white protagonists in films, books, and television programs.

[edit] Stereotypical portrayal in the media

See also: Race and intelligence (media portrayal)

[edit] Early stereotypes

Early minstrel shows lampooned the supposed stupidity of Blacks, movies such as Birth of a Nation questioned weather or not Black people were fit to run for governmental offices or vote. Secretary of State John C. Calhoun arguing for the extension of slavery in 1844 said "Here (scientific confirmation) is proof of the necessity of slavery. The African is incapable of self-care and sinks into lunacy under the burden of freedom. It is a mercy to give him the guardianship and protection from mental death."

Even after slavery ended the intellectual capacity of Black people was still frequently questioned. Lewis Terman wrote in The measurement of intelligence in 1916

"(Black and other ethnic minority children) are uneducable beyond the nearest rudiments of training. No amount of school instruction will ever make them intelligent voters or capable citizens in the sense of the world…their dullness seems to be racial, or at least inherent in the family stock from which they come…Children of this group should be segregated in special classes and be given instruction which is concrete and practical. They cannot master abstractions, but they can be made efficient workers…There is no possibility at present of convincing society that they should not be allowed to reproduce, although from a eugenic point of view they constitute a grave problem because of their unusual prolific breeding."

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been often cited as racist due to the depiction of the slave Jim, among other black characters, which has led to schools banning the book.^[2]

[edit] Modern stereotypes

See also: Acting white

Contemporary sports commentators have questioned if blacks are intelligent enough to hold "strategic" positions or coach games such as football.^[3]

Patricia J. Williams, writer for The Nation said this of Jar Jar a character from the 2002 Star Wars film "...intentionally or not, Jar Jar's pratfalls and high jinks borrow heavily from the genre of minstrelsy. Despite the amphibian get-up, his relentless, panicky, manchild-like idiocy is imported directly from the days of Amos 'N' Andy." Many aspects of Jar Jar's character are believed to be highly reminiscent of the archetypes portrayed in blackface minstrelsy.^[4]In another example, a study of the portrayal of race, ethnicity and nationality in televised sporting events by journalist Derrick Jackson in 1989 showed that blacks were more likely than Whites to be described in demeaning intellectual terms.^[5]Political activist and one time presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson said in 1985 that the news media portray blacks as less intelligent than we are.^[6] Film director Spike Lee explains that these images have negative impacts "In my neighborhood, we looked up to athletes, guys who got the ladies, and intelligent people," said Lee. "[Now] If you're intelligent, you're called a white guy or girl."^[7]

According to Robert M. Entman an Andrew Rojecki, authors of the The Black Image in the White Mind, in television and film Black characters are less likely to be the "the intellectual drivers of its problem solving." Entman and Rojeki assert that media images of Blacks may have profound effects on the perceptions by both Blacks and Whites about black intellectual potential.^[8]

Even so-called positive images of Black people can lead to stereotypes about intelligence. In Darwin's Athletes: how sport has damaged Black America and preserved the myth of race John Hoberman writes that the prominence of African-American athletes encourages a de-emphasis on academic achievement in black communities.^[9] Several other authors have said that sports coverage that highlights 'natural black athleticism' has the effect of suggesting white superiority in other areas, such as intelligence.^[10]

On the teen drama series One Tree Hill, the character "Skillz" Taylor plays basketball and refers to nearly everyone as Dawg or Gurl despite being one of the supposedly more well-read characters.

[edit] Criminal stereotyping of African Americans

The Black Image in the White Mind^[11] illustrates ways in which negative media images of African Americans are disproportionate and arguably harmful to race relations:

• A mug shot of a black defendant is four times more likely to appear in a local television news report than of a white defendant.
• The black accused is two times more likely to be shown physically restrained in a local television news report than when the accused is white.
• The name of the accused is two times more likely to be shown on screen in a local TV news report if the defendant is black, rather than white.
• Female movie characters shown by race:

1. Using vulgar profanity: Blacks 89%, Whites 17%
2. Being physically violent: Blacks 56%, Whites 11%
3. Being restrained: Blacks 55%, Whites 6%

[edit] See also

• African characters in comics
• Blackface
• Ethnic stereotype
• Ethnic stereotypes in American media
• Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture
• Ethnic stereotypes in pornography
• Stereotype threat
• Racial profiling
• Uncle Tom

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Robin Eisenbach. The Color of Television: A Multicultural Look at the Effects of Television. University of Oregon Media Literacy Online Project. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.