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The Jim Crow Museum's Traveling Exhibit ―Hateful Things‖ Is Drawn from Some 4,000 Pieces That Represent Nearly 150 Years of Anti-Black, Racist Objects and Images

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The Jim Crow Museum's Traveling Exhibit ―Hateful Things‖ Is Drawn from Some 4,000 Pieces That Represent Nearly 150 Years of Anti-Black, Racist Objects and Images The Jim Crow Museum's traveling exhibit ―Hateful Things‖ is drawn from some 4,000 pieces that represent nearly 150 years of anti-Black, racist objects and images. Each object in the exhibit is accompanied by a didactic panel explaining its historical and cultural significance. The traveling exhibit has made its way around the state of Michigan at various colleges and universities but has never been on display at a high school venue. In addition to the 39 pieces and didactic panels, the exhibit includes a documentary (DVD format). Installation requirements call for a minimum linear wall space of 150 feet, minimum floor space of 300 feet and proper lighting and security. Additional information is available at the Museum Website at http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/menu.htm HATEFUL THINGS DETAILED INVENTORY C1-01 JOLLY NIGGER BANK 11 x 11 x 11 This is the infamous Jolly Nigger Bank that first appeared in the 1880s. Its eyes roll back when it swallows coins. Many companies produced versions of the bank. It was mass-produced until the 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement sensitized many Americans to the horrors of racial stereotyping and racial caricaturing; hence, objects like the Jolly Nigger Bank lost some of their appeal in the 1960s and 1970s. However, in the 1980s racist collectibles were again in high demand. Vintage versions of the Jolly Nigger Bank escalated in value, and cheap reproductions of the bank became commonplace. This bank is from the 1920s. C1-02 TOBACCO TIN 8 x 9 x 8 Beginning in 1878, the B. Leidersdory Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, produced NiggerHair Smoking Tobacco. In 1917, the American Tobacco Company had a NiggerHair redemption promotion. NiggerHair coupons were redeemable for "cash, tobacco, S. & H. Green stamps, or presents." In the 1940s the name was changed to BiggerHair Smoking Tobacco. The can in this exhibit is from the 1920s. C2-03 RUNNING GUN TARGET 19 x 25 x 14 In the late 1960s flyers were distributed in many American towns showing a cartoon silhouette of a black man with a large Afro and monstrous lips, apparently running. Below the man was written, ―Official Running Nigger Target.‖ Numbers designated different scores for different parts of the anatomy, with a relatively low score for a headshot, and the highest score for hitting his feet. By the 1970s prints, posters, and tee shirts with the target were sold at gun shows. In the early 2000s the targets were widely available through white supremacy websites. The metal ―Running Nigger Target‖ displayed here was created in the 1980s but used until 2001. Please notice the holes produced by high caliber bullets. 1 C2-04 COLORED LAUNDRY BAG 21 x 13 x 14 The picaninny caricature shows Black children as either poorly dressed -- ragged, torn, old oversized clothes -- or, and worse, they are shown as nude or near-nude. This nudity suggests that Black children, and by extension Black parents, are not concerned with modesty. The nudity also implies that Black parents neglect their children. The clothing bag in this exhibit is typical of the way that Black children were portrayed in the 1960s: naked, happy, and laughable. Read: Patricia A. Turner, Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies: Black Images and Their Influence on Culture (New York: Anchor Books, 1994). C2-05 ASHTRAY 9 x 9 x 9 The objects in the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia are everyday objects. They are racially insensitive objects—often depicting Blacks as physically grotesque and culturally deficient. They are also functional items, meaning, a racist ashtray serves multiple purposes. It perpetuates anti-Black caricatures and stereotypes, but it also serves as a place to put cigarette ashes. Maybe at some psychological level the ashtray serves both purposes, simultaneously. The ashtray in this exhibit is from the 1950s. C3-06 PLAIN BROWN RAPPER 13 x 11 x 11 All racial groups have been caricatured, but no group has been caricatured in as many ways, and as often, as have Africans and their American descendants. Many of the caricatures arose during slavery—for example, Mammy, Tom, Sambo, and Picanninny—and some like the Brute arose shortly after slavery. Unfortunately, anti-Black caricatures are still being created. The Plain Brown Rapper is a caricature of young Black men as dope dealing thugs. This mask was produced in 1996 and is popular as a Halloween mask. C3-07 WOODEN TARGET/BALL TOSS 15 x 21 x 9 Many games of the late 19th and early 20th centuries reflected violent racial attitudes towards Africans and African Americans. These games revealed an intense white hostility towards Blacks. This enmity was legitimated, even celebrated, by making it appear as if the Blacks depicted enjoyed the ill- treatment to which the games subjected them. The implicit message was that Blacks did not feel pain in the ways that Whites did; the games’ players could enjoy aggressive assaults because no real pain was inflicted. The game in this exhibit is a reproduction of a 1920s game. It instructs players to ―aim for Alabama Coons’ big smile.‖ Read: Denis Mercier, From Hostility to Reverence: 100 years of African American Imagery in Games. Accessed July 9, 2004 http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/links/games/ 2 C3-8 WOODEN HEAD TOSS 11 x 13 x 12 ―The target games found in traveling carnival shows, seashore resorts and fairgrounds throughout the nation were among the most racially aggressive of all popular games. A painted canvas of a scene, usually a cotton plantation, had a hole through which a Black man stuck his head and tried to get out of the way of the ball. Small prizes were awarded for a direct hit. In 1878 the C.W.F. Dare Company of New York offered painted "Negro Head Canvases" and "Negro Heads" made of wood since live targets were not always easy to come by. Some operators provided human targets with protective wooden helmets covered with curly hair. Eventually such games grated against public sensibilities and were declared illegal.‖ The head in this exhibit is a recreation of a carnival head target from the late 1800s. Read: Denis Mercier, From Hostility to Reverence: 100 years of African American Imagery in Games. Accessed July 9, 2004 http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/links/games/ C4-09 GHETTOPOLY 32 x 34 x 2 In 2002, David Chang released Ghettopoly, a parody of the popular Monopoly game. Chang, a Taiwanese immigrant, claimed that his game was a satirical look at Black images in BET and MTV rap videos, namely, pimps, prostitutes, crack addicts, and gangsters. When civil rights organizations protested the game, sales increased. In 2003, Hasbro sued Chang to make him stop selling the game; Chang countersued. C4-10 LOUISE BEAVERS 23 x 23 x 11 Louise Beavers’ first job in Hollywood was as the real-life maid for actress Leatrice Joy. In the 1920s she began picking up film roles as maids, and despite her considerable performing talents, her long film career was mostly limited to playing domestics. One of her outstanding performances was as ―Delilah Johnson‖ opposite Claudette Colbert in the 1934 film Imitation of Life. Beavers had a weight problem: it was a constant battle for her to stay overweight. She often wore padding to give her the appearance of a mammy. In 1939 she starred in Prison Bait; a handbill is included in this exhibit. On the back of the exhibit is written, ―May 1-2 first time showing for colored.‖ Read: Donald Boggle, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films (New York: Continuum, 1973/1994). C4 Panel for C5-12 3 C4 Opening Panel Hateful Things First on de heel tap, Den on the toe Every time I wheel about I jump Jim Crow. Wheel about and turn about En do j's so. And every time I wheel about, I jump Jim Crow. - Lyric transcribed from 1823 sheet music In the 1820s Thomas Rice, a White entertainer, caused a nationwide sensation by darkening his face with burnt cork and performing the song "Jump Jim Crow" on stage. His Jim Crow song-and-dance routine was a national and international success. Rice’s "Jim Crow" became a stock character in minstrel shows, along with counterparts Jim Dandy and Zip Coon. White audiences were receptive to the portrayals of Blacks as singing, dancing, grinning fools. By 1838, the term "Jim Crow" was being used as a collective racial epithet for Blacks, not as offensive as nigger, but as insulting as coon or darkie. Obviously, the popularity of minstrel shows aided the spread of Jim Crow as a racial slur. This use of the term did not last past a half century. By the end of the 19th Century, the words Jim Crow were less likely to be used to derisively describe Blacks; instead, the phrase Jim Crow was being used to describe laws and customs that oppressed Blacks. The exhibit, Hateful Things, uses items from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University, to tell the story of life under Jim Crow. 4 C4 Closing Panel The banner in this exhibition was used in the 1960s in several protest demonstrations. The values of the Jim Crow Museum are consistent with the values displayed by Dr. Martin Luther King. Racism is wrong. We oppose all forms of racism. The Jim Crow Museum's emphasis on anti-Black racial artifacts should not be seen as a lack of concern about other expressions of group oppression. We believe that prejudice and discrimination directed toward any group is wrong and must be opposed.
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