KIPP:STAR - Caricatures Yesterday and Today lyrics

Have you noticed the new music videos of white artists who only have black performers in their videos? Movies that portray blacks of being illiterate or living in the struggle? It's all because of America's racist past. Whether you want to believe it or not, whites have shaped our society and way of life. The wrongful images that whites have portrayed of blacks has led America to think negative things. Those negative opinions don't only affect our present day society, but also the future. As the opinions on blacks continue to get worse, it will continue to have an adverse effect on the way blacks are treated. Caricatures have played a great role in the making of these negative views of blacks and they continue to lead blacks to a disadvantage today. The Mammy caricature is one disrespectful image portrayed of blacks. This image portrayed that blacks were happy with the institution of slavery when they really opposed slavery. The Mammy was a stout black lady with a “ wide grin, hearty, and loyal servitude”(ferris.edu). This connects to our modern day media due to white female rap videos. Iggy Azalea disrespects black society by performing with black women who are acting nastily and not lady like. It's crazy how whites are able to squeeze themselves into a culture in which they don't belong and then have the audacity to disrespect the culture like its the right thing to do. The Mammy caricature isn't the only; there are other caricatures that do the same thing but towards children. The Picaninny also portrayed negative images about blacks but toward children. The Picaninny showed that black children were impoverished and foolished. Images of the Picaninny showed black children with their “mouths stuffed with watermelon”(ferris.edu). This connects to movie “Precious” based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Precious is depicted as an overweight black kid in the struggle. The media continue to portray blacks as fools. The Picaninny put black children on display as inhuman but there were other caricatures that did the same thing but also to adults. The coon is another caricature that is still represented in our society today. The coon zip shows the blacks are lazy and can't be independent. Sambo “was depicted as a perpetual child not capable of living as an independent adult”(ferris.edu). This connects to modern day black comedies like “Everybody Hates Chris.” Everybody Hates Chris portray a black family who has a son named Chris who makes silly choices. It is ridiculous how there are so many shows that depict blacks in such foolish ways. The coon zip may connect to our modern day world, but there is also another caricature that does the same thing in our society today but pa**es by people blindly. The Uncle Tom caricature portrayed blacks as great slaves . Uncle Tom showed that slaves were dependable people. Uncle Tom was “presented as a smiling, wide-eyed, dark skinned server: fieldworker, cook, butler, porter, or waiter” (Ferris.edu). The Uncle Tom caricature is an example of the modern day movie “The Butler.” The Butler is a black man who works as a servant for rich white people all of his life and enjoys it because whites have set his mindset to think that it was alright for him to serve them. It's an injustice of how society is set up so that minorities are always put in a position in which they are low and have no power at all and are set up to continue this cycle. We need to really stop supporting racist stereotypes because they will continue to get worse and will become a way of life. Stopping racist stereotypes need to become the goal of our society if we're going to stop the poor images of blacks. We might not be able to get rid of all the damage that was already done but we will be able to clear the way for a new and fresh future.