By reclaiming the impor- tance of Du Bois's "American Negro" photographs, this essay aims to expand an archive of anti-racist representa- tions, and thereby reinforce an early foundation for the work of contempo- rary cultural critics.
This kind of made me think of the reclaiming of slurs in certain communities and how people so desperately want to say them despite them knowing that they shouldn't.
reinforcing the association of whiteness with terror in African American minds.2
Vasquez also talks about this, as I mentioned early and I truly agree. With this in mind, what can be an alternative to photographs in the age of social media when it comes to combating this terrorism?
In the images that display burned and muti- lated black bodies set off by crowds of curious-even smiling-white specta- tors
Vasquez states "After Reconstruction, journalists didn’t just cover lynchings—publishing uncritical accounts of racialized terror alongside photos of hanging Black bodies—it condoned and encouraged this terrorism." And I agree because when other white supremacists see photos like this they just feel powerful. It would really encourage more of this violence to occur because they are seeing their peers enjoying the act in these photographs. It's sickening, really.
This white desire for the black body, coupled with the brutal enact- ment of white power on that body in slavery, finds a direct corollary in turn- of-the-century lynchings.
This shows how white people will find anyway to claim and use their power.
Du Bois's images of white-looking African Americans resonate powerful- ly with the literary image of the "tragic mulatto"
I think this is a statement that stuck with me because being biracial was so frowned upon back then, when now it's almost celebrated when it comes to the media and such (Although I know that in many families biracial children are still not accepted and even in the black community it's just a big discourse with lightskin v. darkskin.) It's just so eyeopening to see that it was such a powerful move to add them in these photographs
, Du Bois's photographs point toward the "doubled meanings" the African American portrait may have held for white viewers trained to dis- trust middle-class African Americans as usurpers of cultural privilege (that is, as always already criminals). Further, Du Bois's images pose a criti- cal cultural position, a place from which African Americans can gaze back at white beholders. As bell hooks reminds us, despite the historical pro- hibition against the black gaze, espe- cially during slavery, African Americans have observed white people with "a critical, 'ethnographic' gaze
Aha! My questions have been answered. I had a hunch, but I am glad to know that I was on the right track when it comes to his intent.
Gradually more and more of the body is represented, and subjects are sup- ported by the stuffed chairs, patterned carpets, books, lamps, and lace draperies that signify middle-class par- lors. Thus, as one moves through Du Bois's albums, one finds that the stripped down mugshot gradually fades into the middle-class portrait.
Why do you all think Du Bois started off with mugshots and then gradually went into the middle class portrait? Do you believe it was to appeal to the white gaze at first and then to show them that black people are not just the criminals that they believe them to be?
Du Bois's initial images suggest that for some white viewers the por- trait of an African American is ideolog- ically equivalent to the mugshot of a criminal. Making explicit the discur- sive assumptions that situate African Americans beyond the pale of white society, and behind a Veil where they are invisible to white eyes blinded by racist stereotypes
This is something that Vasquez talked about when she said "Implicit in this gaze is the comfort of white people, whether as participants or observers. With this framework in mind, it seems that the photo of Óscar and Valeria would be contrary to what the white gaze requires—comfort" This is something that is too common. Although some journalists have good intentions when they post graphic pictures because they want the people that are not affected by what is going on to see, it is still just appealing to the white gaze.
The laws that equated "one drop" of "African blood" with blackness encouraged those who believed them- selves to be white to scrutinize other white bodies for the imagined signs of hidden blackness.
Aha! The one drop rule really is something when you think about it. I feel as though this is just an excuse for white people to spread their agenda that being white is superior. This just goes to show the white privilege can truly not be denied. Especially since even having 1% of black in you makes you seem tainted.
Du Bois's pho- tographs repeat the visual tropes of the criminal mugshot "with a difference," directing reading of the images by "indirection" and thereby inverting the dominant signification of these particu- lar photographic signs.13 Du Bois's ini- tial portraits portray expressionless subjects photographed from the shoul- ders up, both head on and in right- angle profile, repeating with uncanny precision the full-face and profile head- shots of the prison record.
Why do we believe Du Bois decided to depict his photographs this way? And what can we pinpoint the difference to actually be? I see how he picked backgrounds that were neutral to not really evoke emotion based on color, or props that would deter from the subject at hand. But I am still curious.
"Now I like the colored peo- ple, and sympathize with all their reasonable aspirations; but you and I both know, John, that in this country the Negromust remain subordi- nate, and can never expect to be the equal of white men. In their place, your people can be honest and respectful; and God knows, I'll do what I can to help them. But when they want to reverse nature, and rule white men, and marry white women, and sit in my parlor, then, by God! we'll hold them under if we have to lynch every Nigger in the land."
If this isn't the MAGA cult mindset, I don't know what is. And it's so crazy to think that people (young and old) still think like this. Very disheartening and alarming.
understanding of how white anxiety over social and economic equality with African Americans was so very often intimately intertwined with white violence upon the black body
This made me think of the MAGA cult, really. How the fear of minorities finally being seen as equals, so they spew extremely racist words and become violent at that fear. I mean, look at how they are all over the internet trolling minorities because they are clearly anxious that they won't be the "one true race" that they claim they are.
Many white supremacists argued that African American criminal behavior had increased dramatically during the postbellum era, and sug- gested that newly emancipated blacks were reverting to their "natural" state of inferiorit
Aha! This is something I truly had to sit and think about because isn't it funny how it's almost like second nature to just comply or not get "too loud" in certain situation because we do not want to feed into stereotypes or have them call us "angry black people." I never thought this was something that dated so far back. And of course white supremacists would point it out.
negro criminality
Aha! Put's into perspective that being black is literally a crime in the eyes of many. This term really had me thinking after seeing it twice. It just hits different when it is written like this.
white Americans evoked the imag- ined "new negro crime" of raping white women in order to legitimize violence upon African American bod- ies6; white lynch mobs called forth an image of the black male rapist in order to justify the torture and mutilation of black men.
We see this so much nowadays when innocent black men are killed and they decide to put images of them with their mug shots or write headlines that dehumanize them to try and justify why they were killed. This reminds me of a quote by Seyhan that said "Despite footage of a white police officer singling out and physically abusing black teenagers at a pool party in Texas, claims in defence of the police -such as that the teenagers had smoked weed and acted like hooligans and the local residents were in fear – surfaced on social media." it's like no matter what is done to black people, they will find a way to justify the obvious racist behavior towards them and will always paint them as dangerous and bad people.
Du Bois's "American Negro" por- traits are disturbing, even shocking, in the way they mirror turn-of-the-centu- ry criminal mugshots. Indeed, the images appear uncannily doubled, con- noting both middle-class portraits and criminal mugshots simultaneously.
Do you all feel as though showing the brutal truth is needed in order to enlighten people on what is going or is it just dehumanizing African Americans and ultimately catering to the white gaze no matter what?
Specifically, I argue that Du Bois's photographs challenge the discourses and images that produced an imagined "negro criminality" and propelled the crime of lynching in turn-of-the-century U.S. culture.
This really goes hand in hand when we look at the images of police brutality that are spread through social media platforms. Because when you think about how technology has helped spread awareness of these horrendous events happening way too often, it also doesn't seem to be enlightening enough to cause fewer cases or even stop police brutality against black people at all. It almost seems as though it is just desensitizing what is going on.