March 20, 1938
Wow! Here’s a "Joe Palooka" strip from 1938. All of Ham Fisher’s white characters are drawn realistically and the African American is this ghastly caricature who speaks in dialect. Seeing something like this in the daily press on the eve of World War II takes my breath away. And not in the good way.
ladailymirror.com 
Can we please retire the term African American? It was foisted on us by Jesse Jackson at the 1988 Democratic Convention. Most American blacks have never been near Africa, don’t speak an African language such as Xhosa, don’t eat African foods. Africa is a continent. American blacks are not immigrants. Those that are really are African-Americans. The term is demeaning and misleading. I have cousins who are African-American (they were born in Johannesberg) and are white-appearing.
LikeLike
That strip is no worse than Step ‘n Fetchit in the movies, or Kingfish on the radio. That was back then, and this is now.
I have to agree with #1, Herb. My grandparents immigrated from Germany in 1905. Neither of them could speak a word of English when they went through Ellis Island.
They made a vow, then and there that since they were Americans now, they would learn english, and never speak german in front of their children. My father was born in 1910, and the only German that he ever heard was when they were in the bedroom, behind closed doors, away from the kids.
My father never called himslf a German-American, and neither have I. Why should we, since we were born here?
To me, it’s obvious to me that my Black friends have ansestors from Africa, If you have two eyes, you can tell. So why even bother?
The only way one would know that I came from German stock would be to tattoo it on my forehead.
Yer pal, Bill Hilser
LikeLike
ALL people have the right to be addressed respectfully as they choose. If any term is considered derogatory by the people it addresses, courtesy suggests it be discarded.
Golden Rule modified: Give respect if you want to be treated respectfully.
LikeLike
Herb – The term African American was not coined by Jesse Jackson, he adopted (some say a bit too late) a term that was being used by Black people. It is used to because we would like to think that we are a bit more than a color in a Crayola box – we did come from somewhere, and that place is Africa.
Bill – You are right, the horrible depiction in the Joe Palooka comic strip is typical of the humor that was used in 1938. However I fail to make the connection of your father’s experience and Herb’s post. Your father came to America because he wanted to, chose not to pass on his mother language, and chose not to identify with his German roots. At my family’s annual family reunion – we celebrate our patriarch – who didn’t get to make such choices…
Thanks larry for the blog and the history lessons…
–Thank you for sharing…. And please keep checking back!
–Larry
LikeLike
no, no se puede ver eso en el lado bueno. lo peor es que en muchos lugares sigue pasando lo mismo. en Cuba, por ejemplo, se habla de socialismo pero siguen ridiculizando a los negros en los comics y en al animación.
LikeLike