Stereotypes of African Americans

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.

History

Race in the United States is based on the physical characteristics of skin color and has played an essential part in shaping American society even before the nation's conception.^[1] 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.

Historical archetypes

Blackface archetype of minstrel shows

 

Promotional poster for Spike Lee's movie Bamboozled (2000) shows an example of blackface.

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. 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.

"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.

"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.

"Magic Negro" archetype

Main article: Magical Negro

The magical negro (sometimes called the mystical negro, magic negro, or our Magical African-American Friend) is a stock character who appears in fiction of a variety of media. The word "negro", now considered archaic and offensive, is used intentionally to emphasize the belief that the archetype is a racist throwback, an update of the "Sambo" stereotype.^[2] The term was popularized by Spike Lee, who dismissed the archetype of the "super-duper magical negro"^[3] in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University^[4] and at Yale University.^[5]

Stereotypical portrayal in the media

See also: Race and intelligence (media portrayal)

Early stereotypes

 

Early minstrel shows lampooned the supposed stupidity of Blacks. Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843

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. …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.^[6]

Modern stereotypes

See also: Acting white

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.^[7] 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.^[8]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.^[9] 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."^[10]

Sports

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.^[11] 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.^[12] Some contemporary sports commentators have questioned if blacks are intelligent enough to hold "strategic" positions or coach games such as football.^[13]

Criminal stereotyping of African Americans

The Black Image in the White Mind^[14] 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%

See also

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

References

1. Thompson, William (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson. 0-205-41365-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
2. D. Marvin Jones (2005). Race, Sex, and Suspicion: The Myth of the Black Male. Praeger Publishers. pp. p. 35. ISBN 0275974626. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
3. Rita Kempley (June 7, 2003). "Too Too Divine: Movies' 'Magic Negro' Saves the Day - but at the Cost of His Soul". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
4. Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu (October 25, 2004). "Stephen King's Super-Duper Magical Negroes". from StrangeHorizons.com. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
5. Susan Gonzalez (March 2, 2001). "Director Spike Lee slams 'same old' black stereotypes in today's films". YALE Bulletin & Calendar. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
6. "Expelling Huck Finn". jewishworldreview.com. Retrieved Jan 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
7. Entman, Robert M. and Andrew Rojecki The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America. 2001
8. [1]
9. Jackson Assails Press On Portrayal of Blacks (NYT)
10. Spike Lee discusses racial stereotypes
11. Darwin's Athletes: how sport has damaged Black America and preserved the myth of race By John Milton Hoberman ISBN 0395822920
12. The Ball Curve: Calculated Racism and the Stereotype of African American Men Ronald E. Hall Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Sep., 2001), pp. 104-119
13. America's Mishandling of the Donovan McNabb-Rush Limbaugh Controversy
14. Robert M. Entman (2000). The Black Image in the White Mind. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-21075-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

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