The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

For this assignment I was brought back to the memories of my childhood watching Saturday morning cartoons and other syndicate shows that used to feature segments portraying different stereotypes of African Americans.  I used to see these images and not understand the role that they played in that time area.  I remember watching The Bugs Bunny Show, Tom and Jerry and All In the Family and laughing when jokes  and other stereotypes were demonstrated.  At that time, I did not identify with the significance the negative images had on the world.





The Bugs Bunny Show

    These images are from the Tom and Jerry Show.


  All In The Family.

I remember watching the original movie, In The Heat of The Night with Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier.  In one scene they we going to question a White man that was a plantation owner about a murder that he may have been involved with.  When they arrived on the plantation there were black cotton pickers around the house.  Once they arrived at the main door, chief Gillipsee, Rod Steiger, rubbed the head of the black lawn jockey.  From what I understand when white people rubbed the head of the black lawn jockeys it was a symbol for good luck.  At the front door they were greeted by a black butler.   The butler escorted the men to the green house where the "Master" was located. Harsh words were exchanged about his whereabouts for the night in questioned.  The "Master" slapped Virgil Tibbs, Sidney Poitier,  in the face and to his dismay Virgil Tibbs, a Black man, slapped him back.  The "Master" questioned the police chief Gillipsee,  "what he was going to do about this?" and the chief said he didn't know what to do.  The "Master" made the comment that at one time he could have had this man hanged for doing something like that. This movie is a prime example of racism and discrimination. The word Nigger and Negro is constantly used. Virgil is harassed and questioned about his ability to do his job as a detective. In one famous line Virgil is called "Boy" and he responds "My name is Mr. Tibbs!"

In the beginning of this movie,  Virgil Tibbs, is the suspect of a murder because he is a new Black man in town. Even when the police department finds out that he is a detective from Philadelphia they still did not believe he had the same rights as the white citizens in Mississippi. He was still the target of violence.  In another scene he was chased into an empty factory warehouse by a gang of White men driving cars with the Confederate Flag for licence plates, they were going to teach him "a lesson".  The White men had chains and ropes and it was evident that they wanted to harm him or kill him.


This historic movie is a prime example of racism, discrimination, oppression, bias, and stereotypes.  In this movie the African Americans did not have equity. They were considered second class citizens and were still in deep poverty and segregation. Virgil, had to gain their respect by solving the case with little to no help from the local police department.

When I watched this movie it made me feel angry because the comments made were so blatant.  The symbols of African Americans were negative, the butler, maid, plantation workers, the store owner/abortionist, the black area of town, the images of shacks and poverty.  This movie was based on the disbelief that a Back man can be a detective. He was automatically accused of the murder, with no evidence against him except for the color of his skin. However, by the end of the movie, I believe that the police chief and other officers had a change of heart and respected Virgil Tibbs as a black man and as an experience  police detective.

In this movie, the whole perspective about African Americans would have to change in order to change the perspective of this movie. When you watch this movie you learn about the history of this country with regards to race, prejudice and discrimination.

Other movies that I considered for this assignment are Roots, Queen, Rosewood, Ruby Bridges, The Color Purple and Django Unchained, each of these movies show different aspects and time periods of oppression, discrimination and stereotypes of African Americans.