POP-EU© POPULAR EUGENICS IN TELEVISION & FILM

A SCREENING COURSE WITH DR. SHANTELLA SHERMAN Pop-Eu: Popular Eugenics in Television & Film Dr. Shantella Sherman, The Acumen Group

EUGENIC THOUGHT AND THEORIES WE ARE OFTEN NEGATIVELY LEARNING TO DECIPHER THOSE OPERATE WITHIN OUR MEDIA IMPACTED BY THOSE IMAGES, THOUGHTS AND THEORIES IS KEY TO CULTURE WORDS, ACTIONS AND BELIEFS OVERALL MENTAL & SPIRITUAL HEALTH The Bankers

In the 1960s two African- American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur. Stars Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson as real- life entrepreneurs Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, who purchased property outside of red-lined areas to ensure Blacks has safe, modern, middle-class homes – as well as access to mortgages. Serving the Black Community

“Mr. Garrett had been born in Texas and revealed to me his desire to return and make a contribution toward the Negro community of that state. At that time, in the entire state of Texas, I dare say there were not half a dozen Negroes employed in the banks in any capacity other than that of janitor. On the other hand, in Houston alone, Negroes have one hundred million dollars on deposit in white banks.” – Joe Morris Hearings, Reports and Prints of the Senate Committee on Government Operations By United States. from Ebony June 1965 article (p. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations · 1965 120). https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaefU17Hk1QUOcygnlybhTlZj7t6QeXlG YQPVBYWfNrNmmsKVpz2xGQsCf74ApX_svjreBb6XmsN7AlYUuh2Rwyr_FlY267zX4bB4Sm1t8GiyB831bM0ZkA NTwtq29WkGW6WUNdRPfLkhH8m2aFNKApkjaHTcdFaXQ6TLAYsM7ch3JAfhvyhmj- GcN4XktGiFtU3vjc27WjAeiuTmMRXHZXCv0NfjDgtNH- KT8O0qOJ5tESEeCEL3lC5jeKDva5Hnd7Lt_Jmyoe6h8gfxoHW9fXNrjy_WlIXewfGOcY9V3rfwefMYag Red-Lining refusal by banks, insurance companies, financiers, and businesses to loan or ensure Blacks or properties in Black neighborhoods because they are considered a “poor financial risk.”

Result: Many Blacks were pushed into neighborhoods with inadequate property values and little to no home equity, reducing or eliminating the generational wealth attached to homeownership. Eugenic and Inherent / Genetic Inferiority Theories • All Blacks represent a subhuman species of being • Blacks are a contaminated race that has the ability to destroy white genes through sexual and social contact • The weak should not be allowed to reproduce or should be segregated from whites in all social spaces. Eugenics in Housing Policy

• Blacks are subhuman • Blacks are genetic predisposed to disease • Black environments are squalid, filthy, and breeding grounds for vice • Blacks bring down the property value of white neighborhoods • Blacks destroy good neighborhoods through inherent laziness and debauchery. The History of Black Banks in the U.S.

The Freedmen’s Bank, created by Congress, opened in 1865 as part of the Freedman’s Bureau, but collapsed 1874 during an economic depression and mismanagement. It showed deposits in 1866 of $300,000 and $57,000,000 in 1874. The Savings Bank of the Grand Fountain United Order of True Reformers in Richmond, Va. chartered March 1888, as was The Capitol Savings Bank of W.D.C. that opened October 17, 1888. Between 1865-1924, more than 100 Black banks operated with estimated capital of $50 million. Business Societies

The National Negro Business League (NNBL) was an American organization founded in Boston in 1900 by Booker T. Washington to promote the interests of African-American businesses. It grew rapidly with In 320 chapters in 1905 and more than 600 chapters in 34 states in 1915. See notes from NNBL’s first convention as PDF online or through The Acumen Group. Use link beneath https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaeY9BL7rCIZW0aozsMBz2Rs9qdqagg7MJkb- photo. MuyTzvEvDGYCT-WXTlw73fhjTprsQCf7K1rycWKb3XyjwA8DWUF3YdhWI4_dbd2Zqpvki2tUfUSTuo5fni6pBUH1qp2yghpOZY- hFrb2JQ3LrMrWKtCBZbaHunIMwiJv7Qb67AVB1I-rTyvubJP-cNmx7TXNJxdNjUoGhyrg1RD90GriHMsi8Hfd- IsMvEuHU3WSfp_WH2NtAihQ9RE5aP0Ty5Cp8O3m937UXzFRas9jmAlQtUI3_e33A Insurance Companies (NC Mutual)

◦ In 1898, African Americans were fewer than three decades from slavery. Established insurance companies had little or no interest in marketing to the Black community. Just meeting end-of-life expenses and being able to bury a loved one with dignity – something that can be achieved through life insurance – were beyond the means of a great portion of African Americans. The use of the word "mutual" in our name was deliberate. When our founders decided to create an insurance company for the African American market, they each had to contribute from their own resources, making it a mutual undertaking. Similarly, each policyholder gained a small stake in the company, with the health of their policy dependent on NC Mutual’s progress. The success of this mutual enterprise was a tremendous source of pride for African Americans in Durham and across the country in those early days of freedom. Black Banks 2020

OneUnited Bank Citizens Trust Bank Liberty Bank & Trust Co. Industrial Bank Harbor Bank of Md Assets: $654 million Assets: $418 million Assets: Over $601 million Assets: $530 million Assets: $311 million Deposits: $370 million Deposits: $363 million Deposits: $514 million Deposits: $479 million Deposits: $286 million Branches: 6 Branches: 7 Branches: 21 Branches: 10 Branches: 7

Commonwealth National Bank Omega Psi Phi Credit Union First Tuskegee Bank Phi Beta Sigma Federal Credit Union Mechanics & Farmers Bank FAMU Federal Credit Union First Independence Bank Credit Union of Atlanta First State Bank North Milwaukee State Bank Illinois Service Federal Seaway Bank Unity National Bank United Bank of Philadelphia Carver Federal Savings Bank Alamerica Bank Tri-State Bank Broadway Federal Bank South Carolina Community Bank Carver State Bank Columbia Savings and Loan Capital City Bank Toledo Urban Credit Union City National Bank Hill District Credit Union Pop-Eu What has scientific racism to do with the television and films you watch?

Racism that uses unproven science or medical theories as proof of genetic inferiority is often termed eugenic. By using eugenics in popular television, ads, films, music, and books, people of differing backgrounds and languages ALL learn the social codes of white supremacy and the inferiority of Others. In this way, all viewers expect the bad guys to look a particular way, the good guys to represent “normality” or national standards, and stereotypes (or race traits) of various groups to come across on screen. Blacks as Super Consumers of Media A recent study found that African Americans view 10 hours of TV per week on average, 1.2X more than the general US population on average. But TV viewing isn’t happening in isolation: 67% of African Americans are using a mobile phone, and 63% are using a computer while watching TV. This screen-stacking is happening during both commercial breaks and TV shows: 65% of African Americans reported using devices during commercial breaks, and 52% reported using devices during TV shows. Nearly half (49%) of research participants said they use multiple devices to visit social media while watching TV. You are what you consume!

Many TV programs do not make you think anything. The problem is that they bombard you with content and you passively receive it. This overtime can affect your analytical and creative thinking abilities to some extent. Like empty calories or spoiled nutrients within food, ingesting television and films can lead to mental and emotional distress – IF you are not analyzing, defusing, or switching off negative programming. Engage, Analyze and Empower with Dr. Shantella & The Acumen Group

Analyze what Screen without you watch interruption

Take notes of what you see Be cognizant of and how it stereotypes makes you feel

Resist! •Challenge images with studios •Commend actors, studios and €20 paypal.me/DrShantella programming that hit the mark •Create what you need