Stereotypes of African Americans

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Stereotypes and generalizations about African Americans and their culture have evolved within American society dating back to the colonial years of settlement, particularly after slavery became a racial institution that was heritable. The early blackface minstrel shows of the 19th century portrayed blacks as joyous, naive, superstitious, ignorant, and musically inclined—characteristics related to the way slaveholders in earlier years believed them to be.

Such scholars as Patricia A. Turner note "stereotyping objects in popular culture that depict blacks as servile, primitive, or simpleminded and explains how the subtle influences of such seemingly harmless images reinforce anti-black attitudes".[1] As with every other identifiable group, stereotypes continue today. Blacks are often portrayed as lazy and very religious. They also are portrayed as having a love of fried chicken, watermelon, corn bread, Kool-Aid, waffles, and grape drink.[2][3]

The idea of race in the United States is based on physical characteristics and skin color. It played an essential part in shaping American society even before the nation existed independently.[4] The perception of black people has been closely tied to their social strata in the United States.[5]

Historical archetypes[edit]

Jim Crow


Main article: Blackface



Main article: Sambo (racial term)



Main article: Mammy archetype

What is known about the Mammy archetype comes from the memoirs and diaries that emerged after the Civil War with recordings and descriptions of African American household women slaves who were considered by family members as their African American mothers. Through these personal accounts, white slaveholders gave biased accounts of what a dominant female house slave role was. She was a woman completely dedicated to the white family, especially to the children of that family. She was the house servant who was given complete charge of domestic management; she was a friend and advisor.[7] The image of Mammy was created to justify the economic exploitation of house slaves and sustained to explain Black women's long-standing restriction to domestic service.[8] Employing Black women in such occupations supported the perceived racial superiority of White employers, encouraging middle-class White women in particular to identify more closely with the racial and class privilege afforded their fathers, husbands, and sons.[8] Through the 20th century a stereotypical image emerged in popular culture of how the typical Mammy appeared. One feminist, Barbara Christian described her as " in color as well as race and fat with enormous breasts that are full enough to nourish all the children in the world; her head is perpetually covered with her trademark kerchief to hide the kinky hair that marks her as ugly. Tied to her physical characteristic are her personality traits: she is strong, for she certainly has enough girth, but this strength is used in the service to her white master and as a way of keeping her male counterparts in check; she is kind and loyal, for she is a mother; she is sexless, for she is ugly; and she is religious and superstitious, for she is black."[8] This stereotypical image of Mammy became even more profound after the success of Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone with the Wind, which was later produced as a movie in the 1930s. Two other images that reinforced the stereotype in popular culture was the image of Aunt Jemima on breakfast items and the Pine-Sol Lady, a dark-skinned, slightly overweight, motherly figure.[8] In the 1990s, the Quaker Oats Company removed her trademark red bandana and eliminated her slave dialect.[8]

Mandingo Negro[edit]

This stereotypical concept was invented by white slave owners who promoted the notion that male African slaves were animalistic and bestial in nature asserting, for example, that in "Negroes all the passions, emotions, and ambitions, are almost wholly subservient to the sexual instinct" and "this construction of the oversexed black male parlayed perfectly into notions of black bestiality and primitivism".[9] The term mandingo is 20th century in origin.[10]


During slavery, the "cult of true womanhood" was an ideology that characterized the standard of femininity; however, these standards only applied to white, middle class women, not Black women. As a stereotype, Sapphire is a domineering female who consumes men and usurps their role.[11] They were characterized as strong, masculine workhorses who labored with Black men in the fields or as aggressive women who drove their children and partners away with their overbearing natures.[12] Her assertive demeanor identifies her with Mammy, but unlike Mammy she is devoid of maternal compassion and understanding.[12] Yet, social scientists claimed that Black women's dominance and matriarchal status within their families, rather than criminatory social policies and economic inequalities, were responsible for the unemployment and the emasculation of Black men, which ultimately resulted in poverty, single parenthood, and the production of criminally inclined, academically low-achieving Black children.[13]


In every way Jezebel was the counter image of the mid- nineteenth century ideal of the Victorian lady.[14] The idea that Black women were more sexually promiscuous and available evolved when Europeans first encountered women in Africa. Unaccustomed to the requirements of a tropical climate, Europeans mistook semi-nudity for lewdness.[14] Similarly, they misinterpreted African cultural traditions, so that polygamy was attributed to the African's uncontrolled lust, tribal dances was construed as orgy. African religions were labeled as pagan, and therefore inferior to Christianity, which had replaced paganism in Europe.[14] If Black slave women could be portrayed as having sexual appetites, then increased fertility should be the expected outcome.[15] With this mindset and stereotype, Black women have been labeled as sexually promiscuous and immoral.

This image also gave the impression that Black women could not be rape victims because they always desired sex, thereby justifying countless acts of sexual assault of black female slaves by white males.[16] Ironically, Jezebel's excessive sexual appetite masculinizes her because she desires sex just as a man does.[17] White slave owners not only used the Jezebel image as a justification for their forced procreation among slaves, they used this image as a legal defense when raping African American women. In fact, James Redpath, an abolitionist no less, wrote that slave women were "gratified by the advances of Saxons." (This was not true at all, as many African American women were threatened into sexual relationships with whites for fear of being "sold, beaten, raped, and having [their] 'husband' or children sold.") Even after acquiring freedom, African American women still suffered from sexual assault and rape throughout Reconstruction up into present times. During and after Reconstruction "Black women […] had little legal recourse when raped by White men, and many Black women were reluctant to report their sexual victimization by Black men for fear that the Black men would be lynched." [18][19]


Another stereotype was that of the savage. African black people were usually depicted as primitive, childlike, cannibalistic persons who live in tribes, carry spears, believe in witchcraft and worship their wizard. White colonists are depicted tricking them by selling junk in exchange for valuable things and/or scaring them with modern technology. A well-known example of this image is Tintin in the Congo. When white people are caught by African tribes they are usually put in a large, black cauldron so they can be cooked and eaten. Sometimes black Africans are depicted as pygmies with childlike behavior so that they can be ridiculed as being similar to children.



Modern stereotypes[edit]

Drug lords, crack victims, evil[edit]

Many of these negative stereotypes spill over into news media portrayals of minorities. Scholars agree that news stereotypes of people of color are pervasive (e.g., Dates & Barlow, 1993; Martindale, 1990; Collins, 2004; Poindexter, Smith, & Heider, 2003; Rowley, 2003; West, 2001). For instance, Entman (2000) found that African Americans were more likely to appear as perpetrators in drug and violent crime stories on network news.

In the 1980s and 1990s, stereotypes of black men shifted and the primary images were of drug lords, crack victims, the underclass, the homeless, and subway muggers (Drummond, 1990). Similarly, Douglas (1995), who looked at O. J. Simpson, Louis Farrakhan, and the Million Man March, found that media placed African-American men on a spectrum of good versus evil.

Watermelon stereotype[edit]

Main article: Watermelon stereotype

The stereotype has it that African Americans have an unusual appetite for watermelons.

Fried chicken[edit]

It is a commonly held stereotype that African Americans love fried chicken, which race and folklore professor, Claire Schmidt, attributes both to its popularity in Southern cuisine and to a scene from the film Birth of a Nation, in which a rowdy African American man is seen eating fried chicken in a legislative hall.[20] The stereotype is occasionally portrayed as "chicken and waffles".

Welfare queen[edit]

Main article: Welfare queen



Studies show that the public dramatically overestimates the number of African Americans in poverty, with the cause of this attributed to media trends and its portrayal of poverty.[21]

Magical Negro[edit]

Main article: Magical Negro


The term was popularized by Spike Lee, who dismissed the archetype of the "super-duper magical negro"[23] in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University[24] and at Yale University.[25] The Magical Negro is a subtype of the more generic numinous Negro, a term coined by Richard Brookhiser in National Review.[26] The latter term refers to saintly, respected or heroic black protagonists or mentors, unsubtly portrayed in U.S. entertainment productions.[26]

Black women[edit]

Common stereotypes of black women in the 21st century are gold digger, independent black woman, and Angry Black Woman. The "angry black woman" is often depicted as always upset and irate. On the other hand, the "independent black woman" is a narcissistic, overachieving, financially successful woman who emasculates black males in her life.[27]

Angry black woman[edit]

Main article: Angry Black Woman

Perhaps the most popular stereotype is that of the "angry black woman," whom media depict as upset and irate; consequently she is often deemed a "bitch".[28] Her character is a spinoff of Sapphire, a historical character who is an undesirable depiction in which black women berate black males in their lives with cruel words and exaggerated body language.


The First Lady dismissed a book by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor entitled The Obamas. Kantor portrayed Mrs. Obama as a hard-nosed operator who sometimes clashed with staffers. Michelle insisted that portrayal is not accurate.[27]

Independent black woman[edit]

The "independent black woman" is often depicted as a narcissistic, overachieving, financially successful woman who emasculates black males in her life. Mia Moody, an assistant professor of journalism at Baylor University, described the "independent black woman" in two articles entitled "A rhetorical analysis of the meaning of the 'independent woman'"[29] and "The meaning of 'Independent Woman' in music".[30]



"Black bitch"[edit]

Just as the Angry Black Woman is a modern manifestation of the Sapphire stereotype, the "black bitch" is a modern manifestation of the Jezebel stereotype. Characters best characterized "bad-black-girls," "black whores" and "black bitches" are archetypes of many Blaxploitation films produced by the white Hollywood establishment. One example of this archetype is the character of Leticia Musgrove in the movie Monster's Ball, portrayed by Halle Berry.

Black athlete[edit]

Black people are stereotyped as being more athletic and better at sports compared to white people. Even though African Americans make up 13% of the population, 75% of NBA players and 65% of NFL players are black. All but one of the sprinters who have broken the 10 second barrier in the 100 meter dash are black. African-American college athletes may be seen as getting into college solely on their athletic ability and not their intelligence.




Throughout the twentieth century, African-Americans in the media appeared almost exclusively in roles of servitude. Butlers were sometimes portrayed as black (for example the butler in many Shirley Temple movies). Housemaids were usually depicted as black, heavy-set middle-aged women who dress in large skirts (examples of this type are Mammy Two-Shoes, Aunt Jemima, Beulah and more recently the title character of Big Momma's House).




One media survey in 1989 showed that blacks were more likely than whites to be described in demeaning intellectual terms.[33] Political activist and one-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson said in 1985 that the news media portray blacks as less intelligent than we are.[34] 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", and the images widely portrayed black Americans as living in inner-city areas, very low-income and under-educated than whites.

Even so-called positive images of Black people can lead to stereotypes about intelligence. In Darwin's Athletes: how sport has damaged Black America and preserved the myth of race, John Hoberman writes that the prominence of African American athletes encourages a de-emphasis on academic achievement in black communities.[35]


Early stereotypes[edit]





In 1916, Lewis Terman wrote in The Measurement of Intelligence:



Some critics have considered Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as racist because of its depiction of the slave Jim, among other black characters. Some schools have excluded the book from their curricula or libraries.[38] The word "nigger" appears numerous times and is used to describe Jim and other black characters. While the term was contemporary for the period when Twain wrote the book, it became perceived as offensive in the 20th century. Other critics have noted that Twain's portrayal of the relationship between Finn and Jim overturned stereotypes of the time and recognized Jim's humanity and strength.[citation needed]


Film and television[edit]

See also: Acting white




African-American women have been represented in film and television in a variety of different ways, starting from the stereotype/archetype of "mammy" (the role played by Hattie McDaniel in Gone with the Wind exemplifies this) drawn from minstrel shows,[44] through to the heroines of blaxploitation movies of the 1970s—although the latter was then weakened by commercial studios.[45] The mammy stereotype was portrayed as asexual while later representations of black women demonstrated a predatory sexuality.[46]


Further information: Race and 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.[35] 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.[47] Some contemporary sports commentators have questioned whether black people are intelligent enough to hold "strategic" positions or coach games such as football.[48]


Criminal stereotyping[edit]


New media stereotypes[edit]




Because newspapers and TV shows generally do not spread racist images anymore, people have gone online. Users rely heavily on old stereotypes of blacks as animalist, evil or shiftless—including depictions of the President as a chimp or sporting a bandana and a mouth full of gold teeth.[citation needed]

See also[edit]


Notes and references[edit]

  2. ^ U.S. Department of Justice "Two St. Louis Men Plead Guilty to Spraying Blacks with Kool-Aid", February 1995 Press Releases, February 10, 1995.
  3. ^ Nance, Justin. "Watermelin, Kool-Aid, and Fried Chicken", The Cub News, March 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Bobo, Lawrence D. (2001). "Racial Attitudes and Relations at the Close of the Twentieth Century". America Becoming: Racial Trends and Their Consequences 1. 
  6. ^ The Picaninny Caricature, Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, Ferris State University.
  7. ^ White 1999, p. 49
  8. ^ a b c d e Collins 1990, p. 80
  9. ^ J. A. Rogers, III Sex and Race 150 (1944).
  10. ^ William L. Van Deburg, Slavery and Race in American Popular Culture (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1984), p.149
  11. ^ White 1999, p. 176
  12. ^ a b West 2008, p. 289
  13. ^ West 2008, p. 296
  14. ^ a b c White 1999, p. 29
  15. ^ Collins 1990, p. 89
  16. ^ West 2008, p. 294
  17. ^ Collins 1990, p. 91
  18. ^ Leiter, Andrew (2010). In the Shadow of the Black Beast. LSU Press. p. 176, 38, 220, 4, 33. ISBN 0807137537. 
  23. ^ Rita Kempley (June 7, 2003). "Too Too Divine: Movies' 'Magic Negro' Saves the Day – but at the Cost of His Soul". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-12-03. 
  24. ^ Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu (October 25, 2004). "Stephen King's Super-Duper Magical Negroes". from Retrieved 2006-12-03. 
  25. ^ Susan Gonzalez (March 2, 2001). "Director Spike Lee slams 'same old' black stereotypes in today's films". YALE Bulletin & Calendar. Retrieved 2006-12-03. 
  26. ^ a b Brookhiser, Richard (20 August 2001). "The Numinous Negro: His importance in our lives; why he is fading". National Review. Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  29. ^ Moody, Mia (2010), A rhetorical analysis of the meaning of the 'independent woman 
  30. ^ Moody, Mia (2010), The meaning of "Independent Woman" in Music 
  31. ^ "White Men Can't Jump": Evidence for the Perceptual Confirmation of Racial Stereotypes Following a Basketball Game Jeff Stone, W. Perry, John M. Darley. Basic and Applied Social Psychology 1997, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 291–306
  33. ^ The Portrayal of Race, Ethnicity and Nationality in Televised International Athletic Events
  34. ^ Jackson Assails Press On Portrayal of Blacks[dead link] (NYT)
  35. ^ a b Hoberman, John Milton (3 November 1997), Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race, Mariner Books, ISBN 0-395-82292-0 
  36. ^ Slavery and the Making of America
  38. ^ "Expelling Huck Finn". Retrieved January 8, 2006. 
  42. ^ Spike Lee discusses racial stereotypes
  47. ^ Hall, Ronald E. (September 2001). "The Ball Curve: Calculated Racism and the Stereotype of African American Men". Journal of Black Studies 32 (1): 104–19. doi:10.1177/002193470103200106. 
  50. ^ Grossman, Lawrence K (Jul–Aug 2001). "From bad to worse: Black images on "White" news". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved October 7, 2007. [dead link]
  51. ^ Romer, Daniel; Jamieson, Kathleen H; de Coteau, Nicole J. (June 1998). "The treatment of persons of color in local television news: Ethnic blame discourse or realistic group conflict?". Communication Research 25 (13): 286–305. doi:10.1177/009365098025003002. 
  52. ^ Rome, Dennis (2004). Black Demons. Greenwood Publishing Inc. 

Further reading[edit]

  • Alan Kurtz, Stereotypes in Black Music: The African-American Crossover Compromise (CreateSpace, 2010)