Jim Crow Museum Jim Crow Museum and Niagara Movement Niagara Move
Jim Crow Museum Jim Crow Museum
Discussion about The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
Jim Crow Museum
Go to the Videos and watch the YouTube introduction to the museum (23 minutes)
Go to the Caricatures area and learn about racist stereotypes
Go to Resources: Scholarly Essays. Read article by Tavia Nyong’o, “Racial Kitsch and Black Performance,” Yale Journal of Criticism.
Note: Please explore other videos and materials in the museum – this website would be a great resource for many relevant topics for a paper in this class.
1. What did you learn about racist memorabilia in the video about the museum?
2. Although African Americans could escape from the Jim Crow South, could they escape the stereotypes about them in the 1900-1940s time period?
3.As you look through the information about racist stereotypes, do not overlook the section on “nigger.” I have never seen a more comprehensive explanation and history of this term, as horrible as it is. Do you think the term should be used by African Americans? If so, in what context?
4.As you look through the racist stereotypes, do you see any that still exist in American culture today? If so, explain your answer and give specific examples.
5.The article by Tavia Nyong’o discusses how African Americans can face racial stereotypes in a range of ways – from shaming, to disgust, or to an appropriation of the stereotype to exorcise its power. I think you will find her points about Uncle Tom’s Cabin, L’il Rascals, and Spike Lee’s work interesting and perhaps disturbing. What do you think is YOUR best way to handle the racist stereotypes from the Jim Crow era?
PART TWO
Discussions
Niagara Movement Niagara Move
– The Niagara Movement – 1905-1910
Here is background information about the Niagara Movement:
PBS – Niagara Movement
The first meeting of the Niagara Movement had to take place in Canada because New York hotels would not accommodate African-Americans. This very fact underscores why WEB DuBois called for the founding of an organization and a movement to improve the lives of African-Americans. It is sobering to think that even in the early 1960s, classical singer Marian Anderson could not count upon hotels in Texas giving her a place to stay the night!
Here is another excellent summary of the Niagara Movement: Blackpast Niagara Movement
1. What person had the most power in the African American community in 1905 and what did WEB DuBois think of him?
2.When you look at the Niagara Declaration of Principles, what do you notice about its attitudes toward African-Americans and their recent social progress? Recall that this Declaration was written by DuBois and the 29 other black men who attended the inaugural Niagara meeting.
Niagara Statement of Principles
1. What are the War Amendments?
2.What other changes are called for in the Niagara Declaration of Principles? Do you know when some of those changes were finally made? Are any of the changes still not made or under threat?
3.Why did the Niagara Movement fail and who was instrumental in its failure? What event precipitated the end of the Niagara Movement?
4.Did WEB DuBois think women should be politically active?
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