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PBS: See The Largest Racist Memorabilia Collection In The United States (Video)

Racist images in the Jim Crow era were used as propaganda to send messages that demeaned African Americans and legitimized violence against them. A visit to the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University in Michigan—home to the largest collection of racist memorabilia in the country—reveals racist memorabilia and messages in all forms, from kitchen utensils to postcards featuring images of public whippings. Among the museum’s collection is a row of caricatures—the Pickaninny, the Tom, the coon, the tragic mulatto, the Jezebel, the savage.

Every piece in the collection had a dual purpose: Reflect existing attitudes toward Black people AND shape future attitudes toward them.

Learn more in Making a Way Out of No Way, episode four of the six-part series, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Episode four premieres on PBS this evening (November 12, 2013, 8-9 pm ET).

MORE: RACIST IMAGES AND MESSAGES IN JIM CROW ERA (PBS)


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