Assignment:
Cultural Images: Discussing a Historical Example of an American Stereotype
The 1923 news item below appeared in the March 3 issue of Time magazine; it concerns a Congressional proposal to honor black women of the Old South.
https://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA99/diller/mammy/fiction.html
Read the news item below and include your reflections and analysis of the following items:
1. What appears to be the attitude of the writer toward "Negro women" in the first paragraph? How does this attitude change in the second paragraph? Why do you think the attitude of the author changes?
2. The proposal for a statue came from Southern legislators, many of who were raised by Black nannies. Given this fact, do you think they were sincere in their proposal to honor the black women by erecting this statue? In your own words, why did the black women reject this proposal? If Congress had erected this statue of "The Black Mammy of the South," how do you think white and black people would view that statue today?
3. What might be a comparable situation today where white people are insisting on maintaining a cultural image for a (nonwhite) group of people? Explain how and why this is a comparable situation.