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To
preserve or not to preserve
The question raised by black Americana
by Virginia Broich
Black
Americana. Black memorabilia. Blackface. Blacks.
Usually
nobody objects to preserving history, but collectors
of black Americana are divided over the issue.
As
the More Than McCoys website puts it, much black Americana
"depicted African Americans in a prejudicial, stereotypical,
and derogatory manner, especially from the 1900s to
the 1950s."
And
that's where the controversy over preservation lies.
Carol
Dawson, a teacher and consultant for the Center for
Excellence in Teaching in St. Paul, knows what its like
to go through the turmoil of deciding whether
to collect items recalling slavery, the limited
opportunities alloted blacks, and the stereotyped,
exaggerated images made of black Americans. She
once collected black Americana but stopped when a relative
came to visit and pointed out the derogatory and demeaning
nature of her collection.
One
of Dawson's artifacts is a box of Gold Dust Twins washing
powder, a product her mother remembered as a child.
Dawson
said, "These were the only public images of Blacks.
These are the images my mother grew up with."
Goldie
and Dustie were the Gold Dust Twins, a trademark developed
by the M.K. Fairbank Company of Chicago for a soap powder
that for decades was the most popular in America. The
box Dawson owns dates to the early 1900s, when the Twins
logo changed to black silhouettes.
In
a 1916 McCall's magazine ad for "Gold Dust, the
busy cleanser," Goldie and Dustie seem to be cleaning
everything in the house -- windows, sinks, pots and
pans, refrigerators, door sills, and tile floors. Beneath
the brand name are the words, "Passed and Approved
by the Housewives of America."
"That's
what we were -- the busy cleaners, the domestics. These
images perpetuated African American stereotypes,"
Dawson said. Today Gold Dust Twins boxes sell for anywhere
from $125-$250.
Not
all blacks feel demeaned by black Americana.
"African
Americans should not define themselves by these negative
images of the past," said Ira Sims. His grandmother
introduced him to antiques, and he continues to buy
and sell black Americana.
Sims
and his wife, Julie Gubbin, owner of Antiquified in
northeast Minneapolis, have a large display of black
Americana at their shop.
Sims
said, "There's nothing in this case that defines
me. The typical stereotypes -- big lips, big eyes --
are derogatory, but a McCoy cookie jar in the shape
of a mammy is part of black Americana." Depending
on age, condition, and demand, Sims said, these cookie
jars sell anywhere from $125-$4,000.
"Look
at this postcard," Sims said. "The woman picking
cotton is smiling." He saw the other postcards
in the seven-shelf display case as great art. Sims
pointed to an illustration of a black woman scolding
a white child. "That was something that was
not done in earlier times," he noted. African
Americans had been taught not to talk back to white
people.
"For
blacks, it's always helpful for us to understand how
our history was viewed," Ira explained. "Black
Americana tells a story of where we were and where we
are now. It is to be shared. We cannot act like it never
existed. If we did, we would be missing a large part
of our history and culture."
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