Understanding Jim Crow: Using Racist Memorabilia to Teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice

by David Pilgrim, Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Foreword)

For many people, especially those who came of age after landmark civil rights legislation was passed, it is difficult to understand what it was like to be an African American living under Jim Crow segregation in the United States. Most young Americans have little or no knowledge about restrictive covenants, literacy tests, poll taxes, lynchings, and other oppressive features of the Jim Crow racial hierarchy. Even those who have some familiarity with the period may initially view racist segregation and injustices as mere relics of a distant, shameful past. A proper understanding of race relations in this country must include a solid knowledge of Jim Crow—how it emerged, what it was like, how it ended, and its impact on the culture. Understanding Jim Crow introduces readers to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, a collection of more than ten thousand contemptible collectibles that are used to engage visitors in intense and intelligent discussions about race, race relations, and racism. The items are offensive. They were meant to be offensive. The items in the Jim Crow Museum served to dehumanize blacks and legitimized patterns of prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. Using racist objects as teaching tools seems counterintuitive—and, quite frankly, needlessly risky. Many Americans are already apprehensive discussing race relations, especially in settings where their ideas are challenged. The museum and this book exist to help overcome our collective trepidation and reluctance to talk about race. Fully illustrated, and with context provided by the museum’s founder and director David Pilgrim, Understanding Jim Crow is both a grisly tour through America’s past and an auspicious starting point for racial understanding and healing.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race, African American, Politics, Art, Social Justice

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2015

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I supported this on Kickstarter, as it appeared as a project I might like to support. I was intrigued by the image used for the cover and watched the video requesting support to get this book published. As a white woman from an area of America which definitely has racial tensions (despite its northern location), I always felt that it was taboo to discuss race and I wanted to educate myself with what David Pilgrim has put together. I read the sample text on the Kickstarter page and I wanted to read more, so I donated to help the cause, and I'm so glad I did. This book was easy to read in the sense that it wasn't written using complex language, but it was not easy to read in the sense that some of what I read ranged from uncomfortable to downright horrifying (as it should be horrifying), but it is so important that this has been written in the way that it has. I've been saddened and disgusted by the recent racial issues occurring in America and feel that as human beings, we are taking massive steps backwards. Regardless of your race, I think everyone needs to read this book and that it should be used in schools to talk about race. My school experience did not appropriately cover race and I've made it into my 30s not feeling able to have an intellectual discussion about it, and my hope would be that this book getting a wider reach would help people become more empathetic to the human existence. Just because we look different on the outside does not mean that we don't all have the same heart. We all bleed; we all feel pain. I highly recommend this book so you can challenge your own views. And I thank David Pilgrim for doing the work he has done and continues to do; it's so important for today and for the future.

[Prima Seadiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on the impact of racism in the US I have read. The history and impact of Jim Crow is very clearly described. The author began this project when he started to collect objects that depicted racist images of African Americans. They still abound in antique shops and online. Having grown up in a border state during the 50's and 60's (Baltimore MD ) these kind of images,"humor" and mindsets were not unfamiliar and in addition, as a former antiques dealer I have seen many and they are creepy.

Pilgrim's book abounds with illustrations of blatant images. After collecting for a number of years he wanted to use them for education. Thus the beginnings of Jim Crow Museum in Ferris Illinois.

Pilgrim does an excellent job describing and noting the cultural use of the caricatures that many of the images promote and are still a part of our culture today. Among others these include the Brute, the Mammy, the Tom and the Picaninny. If you have ever bought Uncle Ben rice, Aunt Jemima Pancake mix or seen Gone with the Wind you have seen these caricatures. Many younger people have no idea of how prevalent Jim Crow was and is.

This is not a comfortable book to read and yet it is worth it. I could not put it down. Even if you have some familiarity with the topic you will gain insight. The fact that he has taken this material and used it as an educational tool to begin to dismantle such thinking and turn hate into education is inspiring.
If you can't go in person I encourage you to visit the museum site where you can both read and see materials in this book. Any review I could write will give you nothing but a tiny slice of the past and the present.

http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/

Last I might add that in addtion to this specific racism towards African Americans it leads you to contemplate as well the anti Muslim, anti Mexican, anti immigrant and other caricatures of today.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most essential book on American history published this year.

[The other John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't willing to take this book to work to read over lunch, but I would recommend it to just about anyone. Dr. David Pilgrim was a collector of memorabilia--racist memorabilia. He spent about three decades collecting cultural artifacts of the Jim Crow era, and then in 1996, he donated the collection to Ferris State University to create the Jim Crow Museum. This book explains what the museum is and what it tries to teach. It's profusely illustrated with photographs of museum artifacts, including the racist caricature on the front cover that prompted me to leave the book at home. It's a disgusting read, in one sense. The crap that was part of our grandparents' and multi-great grandparents' lives is shameful. But it's important to face it. It's important to understand our history in America, to realize, as Dr. Pilgrim puts it, that "Jim Crow was more than a series of 'Whites Only' signs. It was a way of life that approximated a racial caste system." It's important especially as the tropes and stereotypes of Jim Crow linger on in our culture today.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book and I'm disappointed that it hasn't gotten more recognition. It is disturbing and deeply uncomfortable—but that's the point. David Pilgrim's extensive collection of Jim Crow-era racist objects and images memorializes the worst of the American character. But his goal is not to simply shame or shock; he believes that these cringe-inducing creations can inform a more honest understanding of the past and spark a deeper discussion of race. I think he's right. But he's also written an excellent concise history of Jim Crow and the perpetuation of racial stereotypes, sprinkled with facts that even people who have read a lot of American history may be surprised by. (If you'd like to see some images from the book or read more about Pilgrim's work, read this interview with him.)

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is mostly about the racial stereotypes on blacks made by the whites, which can be seen on many things, starting from films to postcards. The author is the founder of Jim Crow Museum, which dedicated to collect artefacts from Segregation Era in order to promote tolerance and social justice. When I began reading, I was expecting the book to be some sort of catalogue listing the collections, yet what I got is a narrative on the history of racial stereotyping, which hindered me from giving five stars.

[Aiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very powerful and captivating book. Despite the heavy subject material, I couldn't put it down and when I did manage to I found my thoughts drifting right back to it. I know there are a number of things in our society and popular culture that I will never look at through the same lens.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of those books that after finishing it- I don't entirely know what to say about it that can do it enough justice. This book is really captivating, I found myself reading it in almost a day. While the subject matter may be somewhat bleak, the author really does a great job using intolerant, racist imagery for teaching tolerance. This whole book is a crash course on Jim Crow, of course, but also dives deep into specific caricatures of anti-black media and examines how ubiquitous anti-blackness has always been in our society. I especially enjoyed how he gave such specific descriptions of anti-black caricatures and actors who played them, etc. Overall, if you want to know more about Jim Crow propaganda and its roots then I would highly recommend this book!

[Bonnie Poptart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book featuring a collection of exhibits the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia in Big Rapids, Michigan. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., wrote the excellent introduction. The objects themselves are both banal and horrifying and serve to underscore the everyday casual racism that has characterized the American public for the past 150 years. The accompanying commentary contextualizes the objects and traces historical public attitudes about race, up to the present day.

Warning: you really can't read this book in public. Almost every other page is a full-color plate of grotesque and deeply upsetting racist artifacts. I did not anyone else to see these images.

[Brendan]

I read this for a history of consumption class, but I think the book is worth reading outside of academia as well. This book is very informative if you are interested in the effects of Jim Crow and how the ideas constructed in that era largely persist in the modern era. It really puts a lot of the current US race issues into a larger context. This book is also valuable in the amount of visual aids it includes, images that showcase "intolerance, in order to teach tolerance." As someone who did not live pre-1964, I think it was very important for me to see these racist depictions and bring awareness to the lack of confrontation towards white superiority.

[H. Givens · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good and helpful book, with a lot of images that might be helpful for teachers to use, but from the title and promotional materials, I thought it was going to be more of a how-to guide about methods for interpreting racist imagery. Instead it was mostly an explanation of what the different caricatures/stereotypes of black people are, which is (again) good and helpful, and it's well presented, but it's not a guide.

[Staci Willems · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read using racist memoribilia to teach about the Jim Crow era, for example, how the mammy caricature was created by those who were pro slavery to portray "....how contented, even happy....." slaves were "......wide grins, hearty laughter, and loyal servitude....". It sheds light on why this racist propoganda is so offensive. The author's collection is on display at the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University.

[Andrew Dodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Understanding Jim Crow” is a must-read for analyzing the impacts of racism in the United States. David Pilgrim, The author, examines racist memorabilia from America's past and deconstructs it to highlight how imagery has played a pivotal role in social control, reinforcing white supremacy through various forms of media. Books like this serve as crucial tools for holding America accountable for its dark history.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is disturbing but in a necessary way to learn from history. I applaud the author for having the strength to collect these horrible objects and finding a way to create a museum for their display. It's the only way to educate people who want to forget or never knew what really happened.

For those who are still repeating the errors of the past, this book is necessary. I appreciated the author's essay about his process of transforming anger into a desire to educate...

[Kristina Uribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

If we are to teach accurate history, a look into the Jim Crow Museum is a must. Each book highlights artifacts in the museum. Although not quite the same as taking it all in when going through the exhibit in person, it is a good substitute for those far and wide to understand the totality of racism in the Jim Crow era to today.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read. By confronting the paraphernalia, postcards and images that promoted racist stereotypes is to grasp the enormity and power of the hatred that fostered this oppression and that still haunts our society today.

[Alli Kamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book with only a vague overview of the Jim Crow era. It introduced to me the deep propaganda that permeated the country during that time and can still be found to this day in auction houses, dusty basements and resale stores. Very interesting, well researched and informative!

[Uoumodafocka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A história do racismo nos EUA através da reprodução de esteriótipos por objetos do cotidiano e da mídia.

Jim Crow muito além das leis segregacionistas.

[Bianca]

An important read so we never forget our history. It’s wild to think my dad probably grew up seeing racist memorabilia so normalized

[Evelyn Barhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and engaging material

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important piece of history that, unfortunately, still lives with us today. So powerful seeing this history in a visual context.

[Torie Silletto · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is what needs to be included in teachings about slavery, Jim Crow and racism in America in school.

We're given an embarrassingly sanitized history.. "a long long time ago, there were slaves and it was bad. Now it's abolished and we're all happy and equal again!" This is extremely damaging and directly responsible for white people who believe systemic racism doesn't exist. Systemic racism cannot be fixed if we're ignorant to its existence and extremity. It was so much worse than I ever could have imagined, and I thought I was pretty woke.

I think it should be required reading for white people. We can do our due diligence by educating ourselves, but actually seeing it is very powerful. And gut wrenching. Although Jim Crow laws no longer exist, the imagery increased my awareness of the sick, toxic residue from this era that still permeates society.

The stories are every bit as eye opening as the pictures, so don't stop after flipping through. I absolutely recommend without hesitation.

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! There's so much here. In my circles, this seems to be a forgotten period of history and I think this book is one of the most important books out there right now. This is one of those books I want to turn around and read again.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

I was introduced to the Jim Crow Museum through a blog titled A Critical Review of The Help. I knew of Jim Crow but seeing the degrading objects and photos that had been used to depict African Americans over the years was shocking. Dr. Pilgrim takes the time to explain the various caricatures used over the years to describe African-Americans and how they were used (usually mockingly) in advertising, TV, etc. It is well worth a read.

[Laura Schmidt-Dockter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say more than has already been said except this: read this book. It has the potential to profoundly impact the reader.

[Mills College Library]

323.1196 P638 2015

[gnarlyhiker]

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