Avauna Walker recently wrote about studying some of the advertisements in old magazines that clearly showed how racism was prevalent in mainstream advertising. Here are but a few examples of products that could be found even in our very recent history with some right in our own community.
1 comment:
A nice visit down history lane. Not only these images, but I remember the days of Tarzan, King of the Jungle, and how Africans were depicted. My father was so outraged that he took us to Nigeria and Ghana as children. I saw a completely different picture. People lived in big, and I mean big, cities with lots of hustle and bustle. I felt that I was in New York City. I also saw wonderful beaches with gigantic hotels. It made me realize that the Media can distort reality and give people the wrong impression. This made me at an early age a very critical thinker who questioned everything.
Some of these images are not from our generation. The Aunt Jamima's Pancake Mix is from the 40's, but it remained wtih us probably through the early 70's. These were condescending and outrageous images of black women, but it spoke to Whites view of us as inferior and only fit to serve them.
I am glad Avauna got a chance to see the other side of the 50's, but what needs to be remembered is that we have come a long way and now we have people from all walks of life learning side by side.
Take care.
Charles T. Ramsey, Esq.
School Board Member
West Contra Costa
Unified School District
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