In the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, racist images were common on everyday items such as toys,
In the late 1800s and well into the 1900s, racist images were common on everyday items such as toys, salt-and-pepper shakers, advertisements, and household figurines. The images served a common purpose–to justify the mistreatment of African Americans and the logic of segregation. They depicted African Americans as slow-witted, lazy, and untrustworthy, but still lovable and childlike souls who simply needed the oversight of white people to ensure they did no harm to themselves or others. The pervasiveness of stereotypical images like these made the civil rights efforts of African Americans even more difficult. If white people accepted these stereotypes, it became that much easier to deny African Americans the full rights of citizenship. Learn more about the history of African American tropes. Blackface: The Birth of an American Stereotype: s.si.edu/2ih4txi -- source link
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