Black History Month is a key time for African-Americans to be more open about their roots and who they are, though unfortunately, it can also be a time where the racism prevalent throughout this country becomes even more obvious. Even people who insist that they aren’t racist towards black people may find themselves believing in and reinforcing stereotypes about them, which can be insulting, degrading, or even have consequences legally or towards others’ well-being. Whether out of genuinely harmful intent or simple ignorance, many incorrect assumptions about African-Americans that have been spread, but, by educating those who make these claims on how hurtful they can be, this world can become more accepting and safer for everyone, regardless of race. 

Caricatures of black Americans have been spread for the entirety of the U.S.’ history, both intentionally and otherwise. Minstrel shows and blackface are the most obvious examples stereotypical portrayals of African-Americans for the sake of “comedy”. While these have fallen out of favor for obvious reasons, they have had lasting results on how the black community is shown in media, especially in art. Exaggeratedly large red lips are often drawn in an attempt to capture the ethnic features of African people. They come quite close to the racist depictions used in the past, even when most artists aren’t creating it with those intentions. Thankfully, many black artists have worked to create tutorials on how to properly draw features others may do incorrectly, not only lips but also black hairstyles and skin tones. Depictions of African-Americans in marketing still often lean into the harmful portrayals of them in the past, one of the key examples of this is the former syrup mascot Aunt Jemima. While seeming to be a regular “spokeswoman” at first glance, her appearance leaned heavily into the “mammy” stereotype of a motherly child-raising black woman with roots deep in slavery and its justifications, saying that women enjoyed serving as slaves, which contributed to the limited job opportunities offered to black women during the Jim Crow era. While the character of Aunt Jemima was announced to be being discontinued in 2020 after the protests against racism in America influenced by George Floyd’s murder and the brand being renamed to Pearl Milling Company, many do not realize why this was needed. Many people saie that this move was racist when in reality, depicting black people in positive and accurate ways is key to lessening prejudice in our country. 

Some of the most pervasive stereotypes of African-Americans involve food, which not only are used to spread hate, but can even damage black culture and that of other groups around the world. The idea that black people love watermelon initially came from how many former slaves grew the crop on their own land after emancipation for profit, but some white people saw this as a sign of lost dominance over the race they saw as inferior. They began to portray an extremely exaggerated love of watermelon as a “common” trait in African-Americans in media, to make them seem lazy, childish, and incompetent through them being obsessed with such a messy food. This was spread through racist music, films, and postcards, and while awareness for how harmful this can be has risen drastically in the modern era, the stereotype is still overly prevalent. Racist political movements often involve imagery of watermelons, and attempts at race-based “comedy” employ them frequently as well. Fried chicken is also involved in similar stereotypes, as it was a traditional dish cooked by slaves before the Civil War, alongside its prevalence in the cuisine of the southern United States. restaurants of the past often featured offensive caricatures of black people as mascots, and recently black celebrities such as Tiger Woods have been subjected to racist remarks about the dish. However, fried chicken is seen as a soul food in African-American culture, but due to its associations with such cruelty it is a sensitive subject for many of black roots. 

Even “positive” stereotypes can have harmful impacts, such as the idea that black people are naturally better at sports than those of other races. Differences between black and white people in terms of athletic performance were debated since the late 1800s. 1930s Olympic track and field runner Jesse Owens’ coach stated that black athletes excelled in such sports due to it being “not long ago that his ability to sprint and jump was a life-and-death matter to him in the jungle”. He also described black athletes with “pliable muscles” and “easy going dispositions[s]”. Even if the idea isn’t as harmful as other stereotypes against African-Americans, its roots in eugenic-esque ideas show that it is not only a myth, but also hurtful nonetheless. Media frequently will make black characters “the athlete” of the group, usually basketball players, and it can give off the idea that people of African descent must be good at sports, harming the idea that they can do things such as get into colleges for other reasons. 

While we as a country have come a long way in terms of diminishing racism against the African-American community, it is still very common, be it out of simply not realizing that these ideas are harmful or deliberately trying to hurt African-Americans. While some may seem to be stuck in their ways, education is key, and by working to show others that words can hurt just as much as other forms of hate can, this world can become a safer, happier, and more united place for everyone. We can overcome the prevalence of these stereotypes by making sure to not talk to or about African-Americans in ways that play into these unfortunate assumptions, even for the sake of “comedy” or satire. Furthermore, it is important when creating media to present African-American people as characters outside of their race, showing that they’re people just like anyone else is. This can be achieved by working with African-Americans to make sure your works don’t feed into stereotypes, recognizing media that does so, and apologizing and working to educate yourself should you make a mistake. These things may seem unnecessary or troublesome, but if we as a society come together to do these things, those of African descent in the U.S. and around the world can be treated with the fairness and acceptance they deserve.