Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies ; No) (Paperback)

by Marilyn Kern-Foxworth (Author) "Slavery has always been and will continue to be one of America's greatest enigmas..." (more)
Key Phrases: integrated advertisements, advertising stamps, using black models, Aunt Jemima, New York, Uncle Ben (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Journalism professor Kern-Foxworth looks at representations of African Americans in advertising from the 19th century to the present.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The portrayal of African Americans by the advertising industry has been at best stereotypic and two-dimensional and at worst demeaning or nonexistent. Kern-Foxworth (journalism, Texas A&M Univ.) chronicles African Americans' first appearances in advertisements in the United States (classified ads for the return of runaway slaves) to the modern celebrity endorsement spots of Michael Jordan and Bill Cosby. Most of her well-researched and -written book focuses on the early days of packaged goods when many of the stereotypically Jim Crow characters have their origins. The author does an excellent job of exploring the nuances of racial stereotyping. The only weaknesses are the occasional digressive cul-de-sac and the use of dated social science research to support the contemporary analysis. Recommended for history, black studies, and media studies collections.
Edward Buller, "Natural History," New York
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Paperback (November 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275951847
• ISBN-13: 978-0275951849
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,112,592 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Badly needed commentary, August 10, 2002

By	Robin Orlowski "political activist" (United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After the civil war, (segregation notwithstanding) African Americans were technically free people, yet were featured in service products essentially recreating slavery. African Americans were only allowed a public acceptance if they conformed to stereotypical images produced by the larger (predominantely white) society.

Kern-Foxworth's tome provides an eloquent examination of this double bind through brand origins to their modern day counterparts. Early depictions of Aunt Jemima reveal a gross caricturization of Black women's physical features and alleged mannerisms that can never be mistaken for flattery, yet this image was welcomed into many facilities where a living African American irrespective of title would never had been welcome.

Critics of this meticulously researched, spell-binding work could argue the presence of African Americans featured on foodstuffs could be a paean to black visibility via capitalism (where purchasing popularity becomes linked to empowerment/) but the argument would conveniently neglect the undeniably problematic implications of linking African American service and purchase.

Not even a transformation from turbaned servant to the vague "modern woman" has completely resolved very serious cultural contradictions and dilemmas surrounding Aunt Jemima. Is she a tool of the dominant society, a covert agent for revolutionary change or somewhere in between? Through art deconstructing and explore cultural politics, she is positioned as an uneasy reminder of America's less than admirable history of discrimination and bigotry.

Reading this book is tough, but critical for everybody interested in political change and pop culture. Advertising imagery is not inanimate, instead both reflecting and shaping the nation. Encouraging critically thought about the political undertones of pop culture, the author by extension makes profound contributions to civil rights public policy.

2 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Made me hungry..., March 13, 2000

By	"united7" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

I felt bad...because after reading this book about what a horrible, racist image Aunt Jemima is...I was inspired to go get a box of her mix and eat pancakes three meals a day. Very informative book, it goes a bit far in blaming everything in the world on racism...as is the style of the day