Coffee and Collaborations

presents

From slavery through the Jim Crow era, the mammy image, along with black face, served the political, social, and economic interests of mainstream white America.

During the antebellum era, the mammy caricature was posited as proof that black women in this case, "Mammy" -- were contented, even happy, being enslaved.

Her wide grin, hearty laughter, and loyal servitude were a witness to the institution of slavery.

Post-Civil War gave a population to #blackface. Blackface and the codifying of blackness— language, movement, deportment, and character—as caricature persists through mass media and in public performances; even today, white students of all ages demonstrate their depiction of what being Black is.

So here is the question: Why Is Being Black So Funny?