JIM CROW & ITS AFTERMATH

JIM CROW & ITS AFTERMATH Jim Crow refers to the racial class system in place from the 1860’s to the 1960’s. It was a series of anti-Black laws and a way of life. Whites were superior to Blacks in all ways (intelligence, morality, and civilized behavior) The Jim Crow system held the following beliefs: sexual relations between races would produce a mongrel race that would destroy America violence must be used to keep Blacks at the bottom of the racial hierarchy

LAWS Jim Crow states severely regulated social interactions between races. Signs were above all public facilities to keep races separate. In many cases, the law dictated separate structures (hospitals, schools, prisons, restrooms, etc.). In most instances, the Black facilities were grossly inferior (not “separate but equal”). Sometimes, there were no Black facilities—no public restroom, no public beach, no place to sit or eat. Jim Crow states were given a legal way to ignore their constitutional obligations to their Black citizens.

Barbers: No colored barber shall serve as a barber (to) white girls or women (Georgia). Jim Crow laws touched every aspect of everyday life. Here are some of the typical Jim Crow laws: Textbooks. Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them (North Carolina). Recreation: Oklahoma prohibited Blacks and Whites from boating together. Georgia established separate parks for Blacks and Whites. Alabama made it illegal for Blacks and Whites to play checkers or dominoes together. Burial: The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons (Georgia).

ETIQUETTE A Black male could not initiate shaking hands with a White male, for it implied being socially equal. These Jim Crow norms show how social expectations went beyond the law: Blacks and Whites were not to eat together. If they did, Whites were to be served first, and some sort of partition was to be placed between them. Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female—that gesture implied intimacy. Blacks were not allowed to show affection toward one another in public, especially kissing, because it offended Whites. Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks, e.g., Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am. Blacks were called by their first names. Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to Whites, and were not allowed use their first names. White motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections.

VIOLENCE . . . OUTSIDE THE LAW Jim Crow was a method of social control based on violence. Blacks who violated the norms risked their homes, their jobs, even their lives. Whites could physically beat Blacks, and Blacks had little legal recourse because the criminal justice system was all-White. The most extreme forms of violence werelynchings. Lynchings were public, brutal murders carried out by mobs. Between 1882 and 1968, there were 3,440 known lynchings among Black men and women. The majority of lynchings occurred in southern states, where resentment against Blacks ran deepest. Most Blacks were lynched for demanding civil rights, violating Jim Crow etiquette/laws, or as a result of race riots. Lynch mobs usually directed their hatred against one victim, who was to serve as an example of what happened to a Black man who did not know his place. Many were so proud of their form of justice that they capitalized on a newly-popular form of propaganda by turning lynch photos into souvenir postcards…

Lynchings often came from false accusations of murder made in order to justify them. On left: Postcard depicting a lynching in Texas, 1920. The back reads, "This was made in the court yard in Center, Texas. He is a 16 year old Black boy. He killed Earl's grandma. She was Florence's mother. Give this to Bud. From Aunt Myrtle." On right: A man holds two corpses still in Mississippi, 1920.

THE NAME Thomas Rice, a white man,wrote the sheet music for a song about a made-up character named Jim Crow, an exaggerated, highly-stereotypical Black character. Performers began to wear blackface makeup, using burnt cork to color his skin black. These shows became popular worldwide and eventually featured the blackface characters Jim Dandy and Zip Coon. They portrayed Blacks as singing, dancing, grinning fools. Jim Crow Zip Coon Actor in blackface makeup

BLACK STEREOTYPES The aforementioned postcard craze led to even more stereotyping of Blacks through advertising and trading cards. The following are a few examples that paved the way for Black stereotypes in advertising. The Picaninny was the dominant racial caricature for Black children. They were often shown with the same exaggerated facial features, naked or in ragged clothing, sometimes being chased by or relaxing/playing with animals, and often eating watermelon or chicken, which was often presumed to be stolen. The Picaninny was used in numerous advertising campaigns in postcard and poster forms…

This postcard ad for the St. Louis Beef Canning Co. depicts a Picaninny leaning on cans of beef while balancing one on his head.What messages does it send to consumers about black children?

Toms and Mammieswere stereotypical labels for male and female Black servants who were faithful and happily submissive. These caricatures were born in defense of slavery: if slavery was wrong, how could these servants be so content and eager to serve Whites? Some ads, like this 1947 one for Hires Root Beer, featured the nameless, generic Tom:

Many Toms and were given the title “Uncle,” a word favored by Southerners who wanted to express respect in a society where calling a Black man “Mister” was out of the question. The title caught on and was used widely by the public for elderly black men. What do you notice about the way the previous Tom and this one, Uncle Remus, talk in their ads? What is that supposed to imply?

One famous and surviving Tom is Rastus, the company trademark of Cream of Wheat since 1898. While now he’s just a face on the box, ads including Rastus have been quite racist in the past. • Often Rastus was portrayed as barely literate. In this 1921 ad, Rastus holds a sign which reads: • Maybe Cream of Wheat • aint got no vitamines. • I dont know what them • things is. If they’s bugs • they aint none in Cream of • Wheat but she’s sho’ good • to eat and cheap. Costs ‘bout • 1 ¢ fo’ a great big dish.

A famous Mammy with exaggerated speech is Aunt Jemima, a jolly ex-slave who lived on a Louisiana plantation and made legendary flapjacks in the days “befo’ de wah.” She is the most successful, enduring example of black servility in marketing. 1894 1927

Uncle Ben is another surviving spokescharacter from the days of Jim Crow. Originally called Converted Rice, the fictional character of Uncle Ben was added in the 1940’s. Many of these images have disappeared, but theyhave been carefully managed and updated over the years. Uncle Ben’s owners have raised and lowered his profile depending on values of the day, and they removed his image from the box entirely during the civil rights era.

So why do you think that these living vestiges of the Jim Crow era still exist on our store shelves? Can you think of other remnants of Jim Crow that exist? ___________________________ Watch the following movie clip from Spike Lee’s 2000 satirical film Bamboozled. What images stand out to you? What racist stereotypes are depicted? Be ready to share your thoughts.

JIM CROW & ITS AFTERMATH