Lockstep And Dance: Images of Black Men in Popular Culture (Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies)

205 Pages·2007·1.6 MB·English

by  Linda G. Tucker

LOCKSTEP AND DANCE

LOCKSTEP
A N DDANCE
Images of Black Men
in Popular Culture
Linda G. Tucker
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON
Margaret Walker alexander series in african american studies
www.upress.state.ms.us
The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the association of american University Presses.
copyright © 2007 by University Press of Mississippi
all rights reserved
Manufactured in the United states of america
Parts of chapter 2, “The Legacy of Type: Minstrelsy, Lynching, and White Lore cycles” were published
as “not Without sanctuary: The Politics and Perils of Teaching students about Lynching,” Trans-
formations: Teaching Through Testimony 16.2 (2005): 270–86. Parts of chapter 3, “court Gestures:
cultural Gerrymandering and the Games That Black Men Play,” were published as “Black Balled:
Basketball and representations of the Black Male athlete,” American Behavioral Scientist 47.3 (2003):
306–28. Parts of chapter 5, “‘Holler if ya Hear Me’: Black Men, (Bad) rap(s), and the return of the
Black Brute,” were published as “Holler if ya Hear Me: Black Men, (Bad) raps, and resistance,”
Canadian Review of American Studies 31.2 (2001): 57–88.
first edition 2007
`
Library of congress cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tucker, Linda G.
Lockstep and dance: images of black men in popular culture / Linda G. Tucker—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Margaret Walker alexander series in african american studies)
includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn-13: 978-1-57806-906-4 (cloth: alk. paper)
isBn-10: 1-57806-906-8 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. african americans in popular culture. 2. african americans—race identity. 3. african american
men—Public opinion. 4. african american men—social conditions. 5. stereotype (Psychology)—
United states. 6. racism in popular culture—United states. 7. Popular culture—United states.
8. United states—race relations. 9. Public opinion—United states. i. Title. ii. series.
e185.625.T83 2007
305.896’073—dc22
2006011829
British Library cataloging-in-Publication Data available
For Russ
Who suggested I should,
insisted I could,
and put up with me while I did

contents
acknowledgments ix
introduction 3
Writing Home
Whiteness, Blackness, and
the showdown in the Big House 18
tHe Legacy of type
Minstrelsy, Lynching, and
White Lore cycles 44
court gestures
cultural Gerrymandering and
the Games That Black Men Play 78
The LasT BLackface?
forays into film’s empty space
of representation 99
“HoLLer if ya Hear me”
Black Men, (Bad) rap(s), and
the return of the Black Brute 127
conclusion 160
notes 166
Works cited 175
Discography 184
index 185

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been started, let alone fi nished, were it not
for the extraordinary people who gave of their time, energy, minds, and sup-
port before and during its gestation. Bouquets of gratitude to Professor Russell
E. Chace Jr. for introducing me to Zora Neale Hurston and the richness of the
African American literary tradition. Thanks also for suggesting that I scrap my
plan to become a physical education teacher and instead pursue graduate studies
in African American literature. Little did I know where a course that I took to fi ll a
general education requirement would lead. My heartfelt thanks to Winston Smith,
who tolerated the cockiest undergraduate ever and pushed me to “jump at de sun”
in more ways than he knows.
I reaped the benefi ts of an incredible graduate committee at the University
of Alberta. For her unwavering intellectual, professional, and personal guidance
and support over the past decade, I thank my Ph.D. supervisor, Heather Zwicker.
Likewise, a big thank you to Gamal Abdel-Shehid, Adam Krim, Mark Simpson,
and Teresa Zackodnik for their generous and astute readings of this manuscript at
various stages of its development. Special thanks to Teresa for her kind encourage-
ment and support in the fi nal stages of revision.
Robin D. G. Kelley, although surely one of the busiest people on the planet, is a
magician about making time to mentor young scholars. For serving as the adviser
of my postdoctoral fellowship and for many other acts of generosity, I am deeply
appreciative.
Special thanks to my New York hosts, Jennie Tichenor and Wesley Sutton, for
taking me under their wings and including me in their lives during my time there.
I would surely have been on the fi rst plane home were it not for the wild and
crazy evenings we spent sipping tea, crocheting, and listening to Wesley read James
Herriot stories out loud. This book would not have been written had I not had
the opportunity to take a postdoctoral fellowship at New York University, but as
a country person at heart, I would not have survived living in New York without
Jennie and Wesley’s kindness.
ix