Black Stereotypes as Reflected in Popular Culture, 1880-1920

“Let's Talk About Race”: Exploring Racial Stereotypes Using Popular Culture in Social Studies Classrooms

“…There are several examples of sitcoms that regularly contain negative stereotypes about African Americans, including Diff'rent Strokes (Kenwith andKeith, 1978-1986), Martin (Bowman, Lawrence, andCarew, 1992-1997), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Borowitz and Borowitz, 1990Borowitz, -1996, and House of Payne (Perry, 2007(Perry, -2012. Although some of these television shows portray African American families in a positive light, they play on old stereotypes whereby the black males are weak-minded and lazy, they avoid educational and work responsibilities, and are the comic relief of the show even when matters get serious (Lemons 1977). In The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Will Smith plays the stereotypical black youngster who is never serious but also is the streetwise derelict who does not value education like his white counterparts.…”

Representing Blackness in the White Imagination: Images of ‘Happy Darkeys’ in Popular Culture, 1893–1917

“…This degrading representation of blacks as simianized subhumans was prevalent in the popular culture of this era (Lemons 1977;Fredrickson 1988, p. 206-215;Dormon 1985). using the visual metaphor of other-as-beast, European American postcard illustrators attributed to African Americans all the traits that were the opposite of their cherished values.…”

“A Narrative to the Colored Children in America”: Lelia Amos Pendleton, African American History Textbooks, and Challenging Personhood

“…Physical features such as the hands, mouth, feet, and foreheads were all exaggerated to present the subpersonhood status of African Americans (Gates, 1988;Lemons, 1977). Popular constructions in advertisement, television, and other media of Black people such as the "sambo," "zip coon," and "mammy" persistently reinforced the caricatures of Black people's humanity.…”