Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive. [1] As a type of stock character, Rastus is meant to portray ignorance and foolishness. Similar images have appeared in advertising, prominently as the mascot for Cream of Wheat , which prompted objections from activists. [2]
Rastus has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel Chandler Harris included a black deacon named "Brer Rastus" in the first Uncle Remus book. However, Rastus (a shortening of Erastus, the Greek name of, especially, Erastus of Corinth) has never been particularly popular as a black name. For example, the 1870 census reported only 42 individuals named Rastus in the United States, of whom only four were Black or mulatto. [3]
Rastus—as a stereotypically happy black man, not as a particular person—became a familiar character in minstrel shows. This is documented in Every Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy by Jim Comer, [4] in fiction such as Adventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown (1906) [5] and Rastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce, [6] in popular songs such as Rastus, Take Me Back (1909) [7] and (Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes 'Round (1905), [8] on radio, [9] and in films, most notably the 1908–1917 Rastus series of short films, [10] with titles that included How Rastus Got His Chicken [11] and Rastus Runs Amuck. [12]
Rastus is also the name of the African-American character who first appeared on packages of Cream of Wheat cereal in 1893 and whose image remained the Cream of Wheat trademark until the 1920s, [13] when it was replaced by a purported photograph of Frank L. White, a Chicago chef wearing a chef's hat and jacket; White claimed to have been the subject of the photograph used to make the image, but his name was never formally recorded. [2] The food manufacturer announced in June 2020 that it was reviewing the packaging after concerns the chef character might perpetuate racist stereotypes. [14] Cream of Wheat abandoned any human imagery on their packaging in late 2020 in response to concerns the chef's image perpetuated racist stereotypes. [2]
Li'l Rastus was the nickname of an African American youth employed as a mascot by the Detroit Tigers from 1908 to 1910.
Ralph McGill, a staunchly anti-segregationist publisher and columnist for the Atlanta Constitution, was subjected to harassing telephone calls at home from racists asking for "Rastus" McGill. [15]
Some promotional materials for Larry Semon's The Wizard of Oz (1925) identified the black farmhand Snowball as Rastus. [17]
Blackface is the practice of performers using burnt cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a global perspective that includes European culture and Western colonialism. Scholars with this wider view may date the practice of blackface to as early as Medieval Europe's mystery plays when bitumen and coal were used to darken the skin of white performers portraying demons, devils, and damned souls. Still others date the practice to English Renaissance theatre, in works such as William Shakespeare's Othello.
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of comically portraying racial stereotypes of African Americans. There were also some African-American performers and black-only minstrel groups that formed and toured. Minstrel shows stereotyped blacks as dimwitted, lazy, buffoonish, cowardly, superstitious, and happy-go-lucky. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people specifically of African descent.
Michael Ray Charles is an American painter born in Lafayette, Louisiana. He won the Rome Prize in 2018.
Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first manufactured in the United States in 1893 by wheat millers in Grand Forks, North Dakota and debuted at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
Aunt Jemima was an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, table syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889 by the Pearl Milling Company and was advertised as the first "ready-mix" cooking product.
Mr. Popo is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. Within the series, he is a genie who serves as the assistant to Earth's guardian deity and the caretaker of their residence, which is located high above the sky. He first appears in the one hundred sixty-third chapter of the Dragon Ball manga, published in 1988. In the Japanese anime adaptations, his voice actor was Toku Nishio, before Kawazu Yasuhiko took over the role for Dragon Ball Kai. For English language media, he was voiced by Christopher Cason in 1999 and from 2010 on. The character was also voiced by Chris Sabat from 2000 up until 2005.
A mammy is a U.S. historical stereotype depicting Black women, usually enslaved, who did domestic work, among nursing children. The fictionalized mammy character is often visualized as a dark-skinned woman with a motherly personality. The origin of the mammy figure stereotype is rooted in the history of slavery in the United States, as enslaved women were often tasked with domestic and childcare work in American slave-holding households. The mammy caricature was used to create a narrative of Black women being content within the institution of slavery among domestic servitude. The mammy stereotype associates Black women with domestic roles, and it has been argued that it, alongside segregation and discrimination, limited job opportunities for Black women during the Jim Crow era.
Angel Puss is a 1944 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on June 3, 1944.
Ben's Original, formerly called Uncle Ben's, is an American brand of parboiled rice and other related food products that were introduced by Converted Rice Inc., which is now owned by Mars, Inc. Uncle Ben's rice was first marketed in 1943 and was the top-selling rice in the United States until the 1990s. In 2020, it was rebranded as "Ben's Original" in the US.
All This and Rabbit Stew is a 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon was released on September 13, 1941, and features Bugs Bunny.
Billy Kersands was an African-American comedian and dancer. He was the most popular black comedian of his day, best known for his work in blackface minstrelsy. In addition to his skillful acrobatics, dancing, singing, and instrument playing, Kersands was renowned for his comic routines involving his large mouth, which he could contort comically or fill with objects such as billiard balls or saucers. His stage persona was that of the dim-witted black man of the type that had been popularized in white minstrel shows. Modern commentators such as Mel Watkins cite him as one of the earliest black entertainers to have faced the dilemma of striking a balance between social satire and the reinforcement of negative stereotypes.
Mrs. Butterworth's is an American brand of table syrups and pancake mixes owned by Conagra Brands. The syrups come in distinctive bottles shaped as the character "Mrs. Butterworth", represented in the form of a matronly woman. The syrup was introduced in 1961. In 1999, the original glass bottles began to be replaced with plastic. In 2009, the character was given the first name "Joy" following a contest held by the company.
Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people with partial or total ancestry from any black racial groups of Africa whose ancestors resided in the United States since before 1865. These stereotypes are largely connected to the racism and the discrimination faced by African Americans. These beliefs date back to the slavery of black people during the colonial era and they have evolved within American society over time.
Frank L. White was an American chef whose likeness, known as "Rastus," is purported to have been featured on the packaging and advertising for Cream of Wheat breakfast cereal from the early 1900s until 2020.
Edith Wilson was an American blues singer, vaudeville performer, and actress from Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. An African-American who performed and recorded in the classic female blues style in the 1920s, Wilson worked in vaudeville and stage productions, first in Louisville and later throughout the U.S. and abroad. From the 1930s onward, she acted in radio plays and television, and from 1948 to 1966 represented the Aunt Jemima brand for Quaker Oats in personal appearances and on television. She remained an active performer until 1980.
The presence of African Americans in major motion picture roles has stirred controversy and been limited dating back decades due to lingering racism following slavery and segregation. "Through most of the 20th century, images of African-Americans in advertising were mainly limited to servants like the pancake-mammy Aunt Jemima and Rastus, the chef on the Cream of Wheat box." While African American representation in the film industry has improved over the years, it has not been a linear process; "Race in American cinema has rarely been a matter of simple step-by-step progress. It has more often proceeded in fits and starts, with backlashes coming on the heels of breakthroughs, and periods of intense argument followed by uncomfortable silence."
September in the Rain is a 1937 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on December 18, 1937.
California Straight Ahead is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Harry A. Pollard and starring Reginald Denny, Gertrude Olmstead, and Tom Wilson.
Who's Afraid of Aunt Jemima? is an acrylic on canvas narrative quilt made by American artist Faith Ringgold in 1983. Named for the Edward Albee play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the character Aunt Jemima, the work is Ringgold's first story quilt and marks the early stages of the artist's shift from oil painting to quilting.
Pearl Milling Company is a North American brand for pancake mix, table syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix was developed in 1888–1889, and was advertised as the first "ready-mix" cooking product.