Black Women on Early Television: Mammy Stereotypes and Roles

Introduction: Black Representation on Television

"African-American portrayals on television have been based on negative stereotypes that do not objectively or accurately portray reality. These stereotypes include, but are not limited to, the portrayal of African-Americans as inferior, lazy, dumb, dishonest, comical, unethical, and crooked (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1977). Dates (1990) was able to add to this list: insolent, bestial, brutish, power-hungry, money-hungry, and ignorant." (Rada)

The image of Black people on television has changed somewhat since the early era of broadcasting. The purpose of this discussion is to examine the roles that Black women played during the early era of television. We will discuss how the roles of Black women were limited to playing the mammy during the early era of television, as well as roles that were labeled as being "too white." In addition, our research examines the stereotypical roles portrayed on television throughout the 1970s. We begin with a brief synopsis of the types of roles that Black people played on television and how those roles affected the way they were treated in everyday life.

The book Living Color: Race and Television in the United States explores the representation of Black people on television in a section entitled "Extra-Special Effects: Televisual Representation and the Claims of 'the Black Experience.'" In this section, the author explains that the portrayal of Blacks on television and in the media has always been controversial (Harper). The author contends that since the days of Amos and Andy, people have been divided about the way Black people are represented to the American public through the medium of television.

The author further asserts that much of the controversy stems from the belief that the images of Black people on television can influence the way Black people are treated in society (Harper). The argument is that art would begin to imitate life. As the author explains, "The standard of simulacra realism that has informed popular demands for greater representation of blacks on TV is rooted in the assumption that such representation would improve the objective conditions characterizing daily life for the mass of African-Americans living within the scope of television's influence." (Harper)

An article in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin appears to confirm these assertions. The article states that:

"Television portrayals of African-Americans and other minorities have been shown to influence whites' perceptions of those groups. Greenberg (1972), for instance, found that over half of the white children sampled reported that television was a principal source for information about African-Americans. Furthermore, children who experienced a high degree of exposure to African-Americans on television were particularly likely to believe that the portrayal of African-Americans was 'true to life' (p. 13). Television's portrayal of minorities, then, can serve to create, reinforce, or change disparaging stereotypes (Dates 1980; Scherer 1971)." (Ford)

Harper goes on to assert that there was almost no accurate reflection of Black people on television in the 1960s. Harper points to an observation made by author John Oliver Killens, who asserted that "through the mid-1960s, a black person could 'stare at television and go to an occasional movie and go through the routine from day-to-day, month to month, and year to year and hardly (if ever) see himself reflected in the cultural media. It was as if he had no real existence, as if he were a figment of his own imagination, or, at best, if he had an existence it wasn't worth reflecting or reflection.'" (Harper)

Black Roles in the Early Television Era (1950s–1960s)

As the research above demonstrates, during the early era of television Black actors played very limited roles — roles that were not an accurate depiction of Black people or Black life. The perpetuation of these images was controlled by White producers and writers, and Black actors were forced to choose between having a job and refusing roles that propagated harmful stereotypes. Many people were opposed to the images they saw on television, and these images have been studied and scrutinized in the decades since they first appeared.

Marilyn Fife writes in her essay on the image of Blacks in television during the 1950s and 1960s that television failed the minority viewer, especially the Black viewer. Since television was a new form of mass media, it simply reinforced the ideas and images already set forth by films, radio, and most publications. The Black person on television was usually cast in character roles (Giovanni and Smith).

Indeed, many of the roles available to Black actors and actresses were extremely limited during the early era of television. Both Black men and Black women played stereotypical roles defined by the White majority. For Black women, these roles consisted mostly of mammies — as exemplified by Beulah — and roles deemed too white — as exemplified by Julia.

The Mammy Archetype: Beulah and Aunt Jemima

The Mammy

One of the most prevalent roles that Black women played during the early era of television was that of the mammy. The book Images of Blacks in American Culture: A Reference Guide to Information Sources explains the claims made by Karen Sue Warren Jewell in her dissertation "An Analysis of the Visual Development of a Stereotype: The Media's Portrayal of Mammy and Aunt Jemima as Symbols of Black Womanhood." Jewell argues that the mass media had historically developed and portrayed Black women as the mammy and Aunt Jemima, and that these images generated myths and stereotypes generalized to all Black women regardless of social class or age. She further stated that the rationale for the media's portrayal of mammy and Aunt Jemima is deeply embedded in the fabric of American society. According to Jewell, this rationale dates back to early conceptions of the value and worth of Black women as human beings. These images suggest that Black women are lacking in beauty, femininity, and attractiveness — the attributes generally associated with womanhood. In addition, the images suggest that Black women are satisfied with their lives and want nothing better for themselves or their families (Giovanni and Smith).

The book goes on to assert that these mammy or Aunt Jemima figures were often portrayed as overweight, bossy women satisfied with their station in life — comical characters with an affection for caring for children and households (Hamlet). The book argues that these images were degrading to Black women and gave America a distorted picture of Black womanhood.

One of the first shows to feature the Black mammy was Beulah, which ran from 1950 until 1953 (Giovanni and Smith). In this television show, the main character Beulah was a domestic housekeeper surrounded by other Black actresses who also played the roles of housekeepers (Giovanni and Smith). The role of Beulah was played by several prominent Black actresses of the era, including Hattie McDaniel and Ethel Waters (Giovanni and Smith). Many people felt that this image of Black women was racist and unnecessary, while others felt that it was positive to see Black people on television at all, even if the roles were degrading.

Aunt Jemima

Another "mammy" character that was controversial during this period was Aunt Jemima, who appeared in television advertisements for pancakes. The book Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow explains that the concept of Aunt Jemima dated back to ancient Rome. Verta Mae (1972) offers a historical viewpoint on the concept of Aunt Jemima as a servant and suggests that the foundation for her origins dates back to ancient Rome and Europe, defining Aunt Jemima within the context of the preparation and serving of food by Blacks to whites. Mae suggests it was common practice for royalty to have Black male and female servants, and that as a consequence the price of Black slaves in Rome was higher than for whites sold at slave markets (Foxworth).

The book further asserts that Black women have often been viewed in America as having a natural talent for cooking — a notion perpetuated during the post-slavery era through the concept of Southern hospitality and the Black cook (Foxworth). Whites believed that because of the experiences Blacks had, they were expert gardeners, farmers, and cooks (Foxworth). Therefore, if a Black woman endorsed a particular cooking product, Whites believed it was a quality product. These notions were pivotal in creating characters such as Aunt Jemima (Foxworth).

Several different women appeared in advertisements for Aunt Jemima beginning in the late nineteenth century. The first Aunt Jemima to appear in a television commercial was Edith Wilson, who worked for the Quaker Oats company from 1948 to 1966. Wilson acknowledged that although her family was supportive of her role, the commercials were met with much criticism and many felt the role was demeaning to Black women (Foxworth).

Conclusion

The purpose of this discussion was to examine the roles that Black women played in the early era of television. We discussed how the roles of Black women were largely limited to the mammy archetype during the early era of television. Our research suggests that the roles of mammy and Aunt Jemima perpetuated the idea that Black women were overweight and bossy.

The paper also examined roles for Black women that were labeled as being too white. We found that the role of Julia was seen as unrealistic and as not accurately reflecting the Black community.

In addition, our research examined the stereotypical roles portrayed on television throughout the 1970s. Shows like Good Times, Sanford and Son, and That's My Mama also contributed to negative stereotypes of Black women — demonstrating that the patterns established in the early era of television persisted well into the following decade.

Bibliography

Carroll, Diahann. Diahann! An Autobiography. 1986.

Ford, T. E. "Effects of Sexist Humor on Tolerance of Sexist Events." Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 9 (2000): 1094–1107.

Giovanni, Nikki. Images of Blacks in American Culture: A Reference Guide to Information Sources. Ed. Jessie Carney Smith. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.

Hamlet, Janice D. "Mammies No More: The Changing Image of Black Women on Stage and Screen." The Western Journal of Black Studies 23.2 (1999): 135.

Foxworth, Marilyn. Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994.

Rada, James A. "A New Piece to the Puzzle: Examining Effects of Television Portrayals of African-Americans." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 44.4 (2000): 704.

Torres, Sasha, ed. Living Color: Race and Television in the United States. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998.