This article discusses stereotypes of blacks of African descent present in American culture. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... This article serves as an overview of the customs and culture of the United States; for the popular (pop) culture of the United States, see arts and entertainment in the United States. ...

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

Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture, involve a stereotypical representation of the typical characteristics of a members of an ethnic group in music, literature, print media, film and the performing arts that is often false or over-simplified. ...

Historical archetypes

Minstrel shows portrayed and lampooned blacks in stereotypical and often disparaging ways, as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, joyous, and musical. Image File history File links Bamboozled promotional movie poster. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Bamboozled is a 2000 satirical film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fall-out from the shows success. ... This reproduction of a 1900 minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co. ...

Mammy

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. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Aunt Jemima is a trademark for pancake flour, syrup, and other breakfast foods. ... For the Canadian politician see Margaret Mitchell (politician) Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was the American author, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her immensely successful novel, Gone with the Wind, which was published in 1936. ... Gone with the Wind, an American novel by Margaret Mitchell, was published in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. ...

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.

Uncle

"Magic Negro"

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.^[1] The term was popularized by Spike Lee, who dismissed the archetype of the "super-duper magical negro"^[2] in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University^[3] and at Yale University.^[4] 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. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up Sambo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... For other senses of this word, see archetype (disambiguation). ... Washington State University (WSU) is a major public research university in Pullman, Washington. ... “Yale” redirects here. ...

Coon

"Bad" Nigger

Stereotypical portrayal in the media

See also: Race and intelligence (media portrayal)

Demonstrators disrupt a 1999 academic conference in London at which 3 race and intelligence researchers were scheduled to speak. ...

Early stereotypes

Early minstrel shows lampooned the assumed 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 whether 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, Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1000x817, 783 KB) Summary Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, arranged by Th. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1000x817, 783 KB) Summary Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, arranged by Th. ... The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, is an indigenous form of American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, usually performed by white people in blackface. ... The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, is an indigenous form of American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, usually performed by white people in blackface. ... The Birth of a Nation is a controversial silent film directed by D.W. Griffith, based on the play The Clansmen and the book The Leopards Spots, both by Thomas Dixon. ... In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ... John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a leading United States Southern politician and political philosopher from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century, best known as a spokesman for slavery, nullification and the rights of electoral minorities, such as slave-holders. ...

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

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.^[5] Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) by Mark Twain is commonly accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. ...

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.^[6] Oreo cookies. ...

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.^[7]

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."^[8] Jesse Jackson The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. ...

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."^{[citation needed]} This article contains a trivia section. ...

Sports

In Darwin's Athletes, John Hoberman writes that the prominence of African-American athletes encourages a de-emphasis on academic achievement in black communities.^[9] Dr. John Hoberman is a Professor of Germanic languages and the current chair of the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. ...

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]

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

Criminal stereotyping

The Black Image in the White Mind illustrates ways in which negative media images of African Americans are disproportionate and arguably harmful to race relations:^[12] An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

• 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:
  • Using vulgar profanity: blacks 89 percent, whites 17 percent
  • Being physically violent: blacks 56 percent, whites 11 percent
  • Being restrained: blacks 55 percent, whites 6 percent

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

Characters native to the African continent have been depicted in comics since the beginnings of the modern comic strip. ... This reproduction of a 1900 minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co. ... Sheet music to Coon Coon Coon, which bills itself as The Most Successful Song Hit of 1901. ... An ethnic stereotype is a generalized representation of an ethnic group, composed of what are thought to be typical characteristics of members of the group. ... Ethnic stereotypes in the American media are oversimplified depictions of various ethnic groups in the United States. ... Ethnic stereotypes in popular culture, involve a stereotypical representation of the typical characteristics of a members of an ethnic group in music, literature, print media, film and the performing arts that is often false or over-simplified. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The effect of Stereotype threat. ... Racial profiling, also known as ethnic profiling, is the inclusion of racial or ethnic characteristics in determining whether a person is considered likely to commit a particular type of crime (see Offender Profiling). ... Uncle Tom is a pejorative for an African American who is perceived by others as behaving in a subservient manner to White American authority figures, or as seeking ingratiation with them by way of unnecessary accommodation. ... Uncle Remus was a fictional character, the title character and fictional narrator of a collection of African American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, published in book form from 1881. ...

References

... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... “Yale” redirects here. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... John Milton Hoberman is American author. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year (154th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.