Jim Crow Cultural jim crow evidence

During the Jim Crow era Disney decided to make a movie called Song of the South. This movie features a black character named Uncle Remus that makes life during the Jim Crow era for blacks look like it was all fun, however as we all should know it was not. After the film was rereleased several times throughout the mid and late 20th century it was finally trailed with persistent accusations of racism. After the 40th anniversary of this movie in 1986 Disney locked it away in its vault. There has been multiple engagements where people have asked Disney CEO's if the movie would be released again on DVD or Blu-ray, and the answer has been that the movie is antiquated and fairly offensive. There will also be no plans to release the movie ever again.

There has been many creations during the Jim Crow era including Jim Crow himself. The main focus of this section is objects created during Jim Crow. Aunt Jemima is a well known syrup and pancake batter brand, however it was not originally created to just be a syrup/pancake brand. Aunt Jemima was originally a former slave named Nancy Green that was hired to be the spokesperson for the brand. The imagery depicted on the brand were pretty stereotypical as well. The previous owners decided on theoutfit to be a bandana and an apron. Nancy green was admired after she was revealed to the public, and she was given a lifetime contract to serve as the spokesperson for Aunt Jemima's pancake mix. After Nancy Green's death the company started to die as well so it was then sold to Quaker Oats. After a new spokesperson was found for Quaker Oats they changed the image to a painted portrait of the new spokesperson.
During the Jim Crow era there were expectations of the African American race when having interactions with whites. Here listed are a couple of Jim Crow Laws created by whites. "It shall be unlawful for a negro and whit person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers." Birmingham, Alabama, 1930 "It shall be unlawful for any white prisoner to be handcuffed or otherwise chained or tied to a negro prisoner." Arkansas, 1903 "No colored barber shall serve as a barber to white women or girls." Atlanta, Georgia, 1926. "Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed with one-eight or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood." Nebraska, 1911. As you can see all of these "laws" are directed towards all African Americans and some other ethnic groups, however they all state something being unlawful if it has an African American and white person intertwined within it.

Citations:

Just How Racist Is Disney's 'Song of the South'? (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from http://screencrush.com/song-of-the-south-relationship

Little Known Black History Fact: The History of Aunt Jemima. (2013, March 29). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/03/28/little-known-black-history-fact-the-history-of-aunt-jemima/

Michigan’s “Jim Crow Museum”, In Big Rapids Showcases Largest Collection Of Racist Artifacts. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2017, from http://rivergrandrapids.com/michigans-jim-crow-museum-in-big-rapids-showcases-largest-collection-of-racist-artifacts/

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