by Marcus Brooks

Created on: September 14, 2008

Racism and discrimination has an ugly history in America. Since the Civil War, free Negroes contended with terror, intimidation and murder. Reconstruction (1865-1879) proved to a boldface lie. Pogroms and white on black, unprovoked attacks left many free blacks disillusioned about their "freedom". To add with the obstacles, there was extreme poverty. This made African Americans leave the South in mass migration.

Negroes dealt with negative portrayals of them by Jim Crow. Early 1900 cartoons showed them in a pathetic light. "Mamie and Pappy" shorts pictured character with dark faces and humongous, white lips. The Pickinanny advertisements placed infants sitting next to alligators. The ad's meaning painted Negroes as animals and savages.

In 1915, Hollywood threw its name with being racist. A movie called "Birth of a Nation" became a blockbuster hit. It featured Ku Klux Klansmen dressed in black garb riding on horses. They combatted rampaging, black soldiers who attempted to take over America. The KKK won and re-instituted slavery. Their "heroic" actions protected white womanhood. They prevented a creation of a "mongrel race". Birth of a Nation won an Oscar for Best Film. Its popularity and the times allowed the Klan to reach a membership of over 4 million, white men.

During the 1930s, Vaudeville acts gained popularity for American audiences. But, instead of hiring black actors, white actors dressed in "blackface". They covered their faces and put white makeup on their lips. They sung, danced and cracked jokes on themselves. Al Jolson became an icon in these acts. No one took Negroes seriously. They were a people who deserved to be poked fun and humiliated. Blacks were silly and immature. They were ill-mannered, lazy and illiterate. These stereotypes continued throughout the Civil Rights Movement.

Southern retailers sold "coon banks". Coon banks were small statues of a black children holding watermelons. Grocery stores carried Uncle Ben's Fried Rice and showed a smiling, black chef. Cream of Wheat products did the same thing. Negroes looked "alien" or subhuman. Pictures showed black infants drinking ink; calling it "nigger milk". Others displayed black children taking a bath; describing "How ink is made".

For years, our race suffered the effects of racism. As a society, we all suffered from the hypocrisy called democracy.

Source: The Civil Rights Chronicle (2003)

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