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Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors: Stories from the Jim Crow Museum
Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors examines the origins and significance of several longstanding anti-black stories and the caricatures and stereotypes that undergird them. It features images from the Jim Crow Museum, the nation's largest publicly accessible collection of racist objects. These pictures document the social injustice that Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as a pus-filled boil “which must be exposed to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.” Each chapter concludes with a story from the author's journey, challenging the integrity of racial narratives.
272 pages, Paperback
Published December 30, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 4, 2019
A few months ago, I was at my local bar when on the tv screen appeared a Japanese band from the 70’s. This particular band (sadly not the only one then or now) is known for wearing afros, painting their faces black, and singing “soul” music. The controversy about such bands periodically flares up here where non-japanese groups express their outrage, Japanese people say its just a joke, and nothing much changes.
I’ve been through the same exhausting arguments and on this particular night was just going to let it go. The man next to me however had other ideas. Without any prompting from me he turns and says, “It’s not racist ok?”. I looked at him for a moment and went back to my book and beer. “They love and respect Black people. That’s why they dress like that”. Again, not getting drawn in. “In Japan, we don’t have discrimination so for us this is just fun. It’s not racist.” I probably should have stayed in my book but just couldn’t. I began to explain in the best of my broken Japanese that what may be a joke for you causes real psychic pain for a lot of people. White people for years dressed in blackface and mocked Black people. It created stereotypes that made people feel less guilty about violence such as lynching and discrimination where Black people couldn’t get jobs or housing. You don’t get to decide who is allowed to be offended by this. Just saying you don’t know why people are offended by this isn’t enough. Look at the history and maybe you’ll understand it better.
I wanted to add that you should ask Koreans or Chinese people if there is no racism in Japan but I probably unloaded enough on this poor guy.
I mention this incident because while this particular person had probably never been to the United States, he shares an attitude unfortunately with many White Americans. It’s all a joke. That photoshopped picture of Obama and the watermelon, just a joke so lighten up. The Fraternity Bros at the University of Oklahoma in 2015 singing:
“There will never be a nigger in SAE”
“There will never be a nigger in SAE.”
“You can hang them from a tree, but he can never sign with me.”
“There will never be a nigger in SAE.”
Just a joke from some college kids. They would never really do any of that so just relax snowflake. No big deal.
“Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors” is David Pilgrim’s response.
Pilgrim is the founder and curator of the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University where he has collected over a century of racist memorabilia from before during and after Jim Crow.
This book’s illustrations are from the museum and accompany chapters about watermelons, straight razors, lynching, dogs, and the n-word and how they all have directly contributed to systemic racism.
I honestly wouldn’t even now where to begin to describe what Pilgrim accomplishes here. The illustrations alone are often so repulsive and sickening that were this a book with no words the impact would remain. Yet there are stories.
White men did paint their faces black before assaulting and raping white women so that a Black man would be blamed. Which they duly were.
Dogs were trained by slavemasters and later police departments to attack and maim Black people.
Black men (and women) were hanged, burned, mutilated and cut up for souvenirs.
Little slave boys were given watermelon that if they didn’t run fast enough for it to the master’s amusement, would be beaten later.
You can buy T-shirts with a picture of a noose saying “Rope” written in the iconic Obama “Hope” font. You can buy target practice sheets with Obama’s face on them. You can buy photoshopped t-shirts of Obama hanging from a noose….
These stories are uniformly revolting and that Pilgrim at the end of each chapter adds a personal experience of his own makes them even more real.
I think I often say that some books are difficult to read. This book is definitely in that category. That there is visual evidence for our eyes to go with the stories for our hearts and minds makes it that much more so. I highly recommend this book even for those who think they are well versed in Jim Crow and America’s sordid history with it. There are stories that surprised even me and make the Jim Crow Museum a must visit destination someday.
I’ve been through the same exhausting arguments and on this particular night was just going to let it go. The man next to me however had other ideas. Without any prompting from me he turns and says, “It’s not racist ok?”. I looked at him for a moment and went back to my book and beer. “They love and respect Black people. That’s why they dress like that”. Again, not getting drawn in. “In Japan, we don’t have discrimination so for us this is just fun. It’s not racist.” I probably should have stayed in my book but just couldn’t. I began to explain in the best of my broken Japanese that what may be a joke for you causes real psychic pain for a lot of people. White people for years dressed in blackface and mocked Black people. It created stereotypes that made people feel less guilty about violence such as lynching and discrimination where Black people couldn’t get jobs or housing. You don’t get to decide who is allowed to be offended by this. Just saying you don’t know why people are offended by this isn’t enough. Look at the history and maybe you’ll understand it better.
I wanted to add that you should ask Koreans or Chinese people if there is no racism in Japan but I probably unloaded enough on this poor guy.
I mention this incident because while this particular person had probably never been to the United States, he shares an attitude unfortunately with many White Americans. It’s all a joke. That photoshopped picture of Obama and the watermelon, just a joke so lighten up. The Fraternity Bros at the University of Oklahoma in 2015 singing:
“There will never be a nigger in SAE”
“There will never be a nigger in SAE.”
“You can hang them from a tree, but he can never sign with me.”
“There will never be a nigger in SAE.”
Just a joke from some college kids. They would never really do any of that so just relax snowflake. No big deal.
“Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors” is David Pilgrim’s response.
Pilgrim is the founder and curator of the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University where he has collected over a century of racist memorabilia from before during and after Jim Crow.
This book’s illustrations are from the museum and accompany chapters about watermelons, straight razors, lynching, dogs, and the n-word and how they all have directly contributed to systemic racism.
I honestly wouldn’t even now where to begin to describe what Pilgrim accomplishes here. The illustrations alone are often so repulsive and sickening that were this a book with no words the impact would remain. Yet there are stories.
White men did paint their faces black before assaulting and raping white women so that a Black man would be blamed. Which they duly were.
Dogs were trained by slavemasters and later police departments to attack and maim Black people.
Black men (and women) were hanged, burned, mutilated and cut up for souvenirs.
Little slave boys were given watermelon that if they didn’t run fast enough for it to the master’s amusement, would be beaten later.
You can buy T-shirts with a picture of a noose saying “Rope” written in the iconic Obama “Hope” font. You can buy target practice sheets with Obama’s face on them. You can buy photoshopped t-shirts of Obama hanging from a noose….
These stories are uniformly revolting and that Pilgrim at the end of each chapter adds a personal experience of his own makes them even more real.
I think I often say that some books are difficult to read. This book is definitely in that category. That there is visual evidence for our eyes to go with the stories for our hearts and minds makes it that much more so. I highly recommend this book even for those who think they are well versed in Jim Crow and America’s sordid history with it. There are stories that surprised even me and make the Jim Crow Museum a must visit destination someday.
September 14, 2018
I don't give out many 5 star ratings. A book has to be exceptional for me to do so.
Well, I wouldn’t call this an enjoyable read but most definitely a thought provoking, engrossing and enlightening one and a 5 star read.
As in his previous book Understanding Jim Crow: Using Racist Memorabilia to Teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice, Pilgrim addresses the history past and current of racism in the US.
This time he uses items from the Jim Crow Museum to further explore racial stereotypes in our culture and their impact. He uses many illustrations, some not easy to view. Sadly some items displayed are not vintage examples but very contemporary in nature showing that such beliefs are still part of our culture.
Specifically he uses the items in the title and others to explore the underlying racist beliefs they encompass. Other items he explores include depictions of African Americans as sub-human, apes, blackface, dogs, and the denigrating use of language specifically the use of "n*gger" and how that has changed.
Enjoying watermelon seems innocent but they were and are used in context to depict African Americans as lazy, shiftless and impulsive.
Nooses, the most difficult chapter explores the widespread torture and lynching that took place during the Jim Crow years and how those images persist as threats even if the behavior has diminished though not extinct. The illustrations taken from common past sources are horrific.
Razor toting criminals as a cliché of threatening behavior, Hated by Dogs are other areas he addresses how these tropes have influenced the face of racism past and present.
This book, like Pilgrim's previous, aims to explore and open constructive dialogue about an issue that is fundamental to the U.S. psyche (as well as the rest of the world). I appreciate how he ends the book on a positive note.
I highly recommend this and his earlier book.
Well, I wouldn’t call this an enjoyable read but most definitely a thought provoking, engrossing and enlightening one and a 5 star read.
As in his previous book Understanding Jim Crow: Using Racist Memorabilia to Teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice, Pilgrim addresses the history past and current of racism in the US.
This time he uses items from the Jim Crow Museum to further explore racial stereotypes in our culture and their impact. He uses many illustrations, some not easy to view. Sadly some items displayed are not vintage examples but very contemporary in nature showing that such beliefs are still part of our culture.
Specifically he uses the items in the title and others to explore the underlying racist beliefs they encompass. Other items he explores include depictions of African Americans as sub-human, apes, blackface, dogs, and the denigrating use of language specifically the use of "n*gger" and how that has changed.
Enjoying watermelon seems innocent but they were and are used in context to depict African Americans as lazy, shiftless and impulsive.
Nooses, the most difficult chapter explores the widespread torture and lynching that took place during the Jim Crow years and how those images persist as threats even if the behavior has diminished though not extinct. The illustrations taken from common past sources are horrific.
Razor toting criminals as a cliché of threatening behavior, Hated by Dogs are other areas he addresses how these tropes have influenced the face of racism past and present.
This book, like Pilgrim's previous, aims to explore and open constructive dialogue about an issue that is fundamental to the U.S. psyche (as well as the rest of the world). I appreciate how he ends the book on a positive note.
I highly recommend this and his earlier book.
September 17, 2019
Important but uncomfortable history lessons on things that all Americans should know about. Images of black people with large lips eating watermelon may seem harmless to some today, but to others they cause real pain. Tracing the history makes it clear why.
The history here is illustrated with many images from the "Jim Crow Museum". Me, I take in information more easily from books than museum exhibits where I have to bend and squint to read small descriptions. Still, it is important that such a museum exist. If you can't visit in person, this book is well worth your time.
Highly recommended, though some sections are very difficult to read. I've known about lynchings for a long time, but the extent of torture often involved, and the extent to which it happened also in northern states, was shocking.
This is not all just ancient history. Present day t-shirts, cards, and internet memes are included, some of which I'm sad to say were shared on social media by my family and acquaintances.
Some of my favorite parts of this book were the personal notes that David Pilgrim added in each chapter, so I'll share a personal note of my own. I was not at all surprised by a disturbing quotation from my hometown newspaper 100 years ago. But my heart did skip a beat when I saw a reference to one of my high school friends who is now a semi-famous conservative blogger and former editor for a national magazine. Thankfully, it was a reference to a positive article about setting examples for our children. That friend is not to my knowledge racist, but he has published very harmful anti-gay and anti-trans thoughts, so I was prepared for the worst. (I won't name him, but you can find his post in the very last footnote in the book.)
The history here is illustrated with many images from the "Jim Crow Museum". Me, I take in information more easily from books than museum exhibits where I have to bend and squint to read small descriptions. Still, it is important that such a museum exist. If you can't visit in person, this book is well worth your time.
Highly recommended, though some sections are very difficult to read. I've known about lynchings for a long time, but the extent of torture often involved, and the extent to which it happened also in northern states, was shocking.
This is not all just ancient history. Present day t-shirts, cards, and internet memes are included, some of which I'm sad to say were shared on social media by my family and acquaintances.
Some of my favorite parts of this book were the personal notes that David Pilgrim added in each chapter, so I'll share a personal note of my own. I was not at all surprised by a disturbing quotation from my hometown newspaper 100 years ago. But my heart did skip a beat when I saw a reference to one of my high school friends who is now a semi-famous conservative blogger and former editor for a national magazine. Thankfully, it was a reference to a positive article about setting examples for our children. That friend is not to my knowledge racist, but he has published very harmful anti-gay and anti-trans thoughts, so I was prepared for the worst. (I won't name him, but you can find his post in the very last footnote in the book.)
December 19, 2020
I struggle to write what is in my heart right now. As a white mother of three beautiful bi-racial children, a divorcée of an interracial marriage, and someone who has studied some of the horrors that have happened to African Americans in this country, I was shocked, upset, angered, horrified, ashamed, and in disbelief that things like what I read have ever occurred. This book is written by the founder of The Jim Crow museum and chronicles the propaganda, racism, and shocking (and I mean horrifically shocking) events that have taken place in this nation. I thought I understood where the pain, that has been shown recently, was coming from, but I literally had no idea. Very difficult to read about things that have even occurred recently, not to mention in the past. I feel this is a must read for every person seeking understanding to what is happening in our country and why we must examine our own personal views and how we treat our black brothers and sisters.
March 7, 2018
David Pilgrim has done an amazing job in this great undertaking. I have never seen or read anything like this. I love his personal stories/takeaways at the end of each chapter. We deal with our history in the magnitude that we are able to handle it. The ones that made a great impact are easier to look at but the ugly side... it's hard to see. This book had me in many emotions: anger, hurt, disappointment, confusion, betrayal, and detachment. The pictures, the legacy left is our reality. I feel like I'm living in my mother's day. As I read, I struggled with hatred...because I have yet to understand. As I got to the conclusion, Pilgrim's closure let me know that I was headed in the right direction. I refuse to live my life in hatred. Love is the greater power. God is love. I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.
July 9, 2018
This book is truly disturbing. You ease into it, reading about cultural depictions like Aunt Jemima, white men wearing black-face makeup in minstrel shows, Uncle Tom. We learn about how the term “Jim Crow” originated, and the tendency to associate black people and watermelons. All quite interesting and informative. But then there’s the chapter about lynchings, followed by a chapter about dogs trained to track and attack black people. I thought the Holocaust was terrible, but at least that lasted for only a few years. It’s a wonder that more black people aren’t angrier than they are. This book should be on the curriculum of every school in America.
February 10, 2022
If we are to teach accurate history, a look into the Jim Crow Museum is a must. Each book highlights artifacts in the museum. Although not quite the same as taking it all in when going through the exhibit in person, it is a good substitute for those far and wide to understand the totality of racism in the Jim Crow era to today.
July 3, 2020
First of all, a warning. There are some very explicit, very upsetting photos in this book. Also, some of the descriptions of things done to black people are also very explicit and very upsetting.
The book is about a museum which displays items which expose how racism has been in the mass media and even contains items that have been sold and which are also very racist.
I consider this book to be an absolute must for anyone who wants to learn about what I would term cultural racism. It also is a great example of how important it is to know about the past and how it impacts on the present. Anyone who has followed the demonstrations on the media or has seen the very high number of videos on You Tube about police violence against blacks will have a better idea of where this mindset has come from after reading this book.
Remember: we are not born racists. People become racist only by growing up in an environment that encourages the development of racism whether that view is from the home, from school or from the kinds of friends a person makes.
There are, by the way, many photos in this book and you can also see a number of videos about this museum on You Tube.
Here's a list of just some of the things covered in this excellent work:
Lynchings.
Book items such as Little Black Sambo and Uncle Tom's Cabin..
Racial stereotypes.
Scientific racism.
Group loathing.
Blackface and minstrels.
How watermelon has been used in racist denigration of blacks.
How blacks have been treated in cartoons and movies.
Jackie Robinson.
Blacks and straight razors.
Souvenir hunters taking pieces of hung blacks.
Racist toys.
There are plenty of other topics covered. There's also an index and numerous pages of notes.
This is the kind of book that should be used at the very least in colleges if not earlier to teach students about the absolute horrors of racism. (If used in colleges I'd recommend the entire book; if used in grades 12 and below I'd have a couple of the photographs removed – they are majorly upsetting being real life and not some Hollywood type of special effects.)
If I could rate this book more than 5 stars I would.
The book is about a museum which displays items which expose how racism has been in the mass media and even contains items that have been sold and which are also very racist.
I consider this book to be an absolute must for anyone who wants to learn about what I would term cultural racism. It also is a great example of how important it is to know about the past and how it impacts on the present. Anyone who has followed the demonstrations on the media or has seen the very high number of videos on You Tube about police violence against blacks will have a better idea of where this mindset has come from after reading this book.
Remember: we are not born racists. People become racist only by growing up in an environment that encourages the development of racism whether that view is from the home, from school or from the kinds of friends a person makes.
There are, by the way, many photos in this book and you can also see a number of videos about this museum on You Tube.
Here's a list of just some of the things covered in this excellent work:
Lynchings.
Book items such as Little Black Sambo and Uncle Tom's Cabin..
Racial stereotypes.
Scientific racism.
Group loathing.
Blackface and minstrels.
How watermelon has been used in racist denigration of blacks.
How blacks have been treated in cartoons and movies.
Jackie Robinson.
Blacks and straight razors.
Souvenir hunters taking pieces of hung blacks.
Racist toys.
There are plenty of other topics covered. There's also an index and numerous pages of notes.
This is the kind of book that should be used at the very least in colleges if not earlier to teach students about the absolute horrors of racism. (If used in colleges I'd recommend the entire book; if used in grades 12 and below I'd have a couple of the photographs removed – they are majorly upsetting being real life and not some Hollywood type of special effects.)
If I could rate this book more than 5 stars I would.
August 24, 2020
Not so much a review... perhaps more ‘commentary’.
I have 2 not-so-little kids who are constantly peering over my shoulders to spy what it is I’m doing at any moment. One particular moment came earlier this year when I stumbled upon the magic of the short film, Hair Love. While they understood some of my teary admiration - my husband does not have a lot of experience with little girl hair, and isn’t it a sweet gesture that she wants her hair to be nice for her mom who... well, watch the short... - it struck a larger conversation that we hadn’t had.
That evening my two, white, children learned about hair. And all of the ways that someone can encounter discrimination. Because of hair.
This, somehow, led us down a path to Jim Crow. Which is where I found this book. I started this book in late May. I read one chapter and it was too much for me. Having lived in the south, I was aware of a tiny fraction of what had, and continues to, transpire. Having been raised in the north - where EVERYONE was white and racism wasn’t openly discussed - I left college thinking that racism was abandoned in the ‘60s.
This book has made me realize how deep, and materially, hatred can, has, and does run. (Some artifacts shown are less than 5 years old...). I picked it back up today and couldn’t put it down. It’s devastating, and fascinating, and horrific. It’s important. It’s something my kids will read in a few years, because I need them to know that the world they live in is much larger and more complicated than the one they see each day.
I have 2 not-so-little kids who are constantly peering over my shoulders to spy what it is I’m doing at any moment. One particular moment came earlier this year when I stumbled upon the magic of the short film, Hair Love. While they understood some of my teary admiration - my husband does not have a lot of experience with little girl hair, and isn’t it a sweet gesture that she wants her hair to be nice for her mom who... well, watch the short... - it struck a larger conversation that we hadn’t had.
That evening my two, white, children learned about hair. And all of the ways that someone can encounter discrimination. Because of hair.
This, somehow, led us down a path to Jim Crow. Which is where I found this book. I started this book in late May. I read one chapter and it was too much for me. Having lived in the south, I was aware of a tiny fraction of what had, and continues to, transpire. Having been raised in the north - where EVERYONE was white and racism wasn’t openly discussed - I left college thinking that racism was abandoned in the ‘60s.
This book has made me realize how deep, and materially, hatred can, has, and does run. (Some artifacts shown are less than 5 years old...). I picked it back up today and couldn’t put it down. It’s devastating, and fascinating, and horrific. It’s important. It’s something my kids will read in a few years, because I need them to know that the world they live in is much larger and more complicated than the one they see each day.
January 8, 2024
The only complaint I can make towards the book is the end left me a little exasperated that he wasn't including women in this symbolic brotherhood moment, and we have to hear more on that later. While you're welcome to expand more later... why exclude? Why not extend the thought and its symbolism to women when you are to white murderers? I thought someone so involved in racial social commentary would be a little less obtuse about gender equality.
This book is overall very good, well put, and educating.
This book is overall very good, well put, and educating.
February 26, 2021
The pernicious effect of systemic racism
This highly personal volume by David Pilgrim, the founder and curator of the Jim Crow museum makes many deeply important points. The one that resonates with me goes suggests that we cannot fix the system until we change the stories we tell our children. . . And to ourselves. Exquisitely documented, this is an excellent starting point for a mindful examination of systemic racism, offering ample direction for further study.
This highly personal volume by David Pilgrim, the founder and curator of the Jim Crow museum makes many deeply important points. The one that resonates with me goes suggests that we cannot fix the system until we change the stories we tell our children. . . And to ourselves. Exquisitely documented, this is an excellent starting point for a mindful examination of systemic racism, offering ample direction for further study.
January 13, 2018
3 3/4 stars. A book won on Goodreads. Although informative, some things gets repeated too often than it should. I am surprised boxer Jack Johnson with his interracial marriage and bicyclist Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor with what they endured while they were athletes in their time, before Jackie Robinson were not included in the book.
January 7, 2019
Shocked
I read this book having wondered about the history of Him Crow. It saddens me to think any one could be treated with such contempt. I felt many emotions. But if I have a chance to visit the museum U will do so. This is a part of history that I never understood. People are equal regardless of color. This is a book well worth reading.
I read this book having wondered about the history of Him Crow. It saddens me to think any one could be treated with such contempt. I felt many emotions. But if I have a chance to visit the museum U will do so. This is a part of history that I never understood. People are equal regardless of color. This is a book well worth reading.
July 14, 2020
Very informative, insightful, moving analysis of racist imagery epitomized by memorabilia collected & displayed by the author at the Jim Crow museum. Important, yet at times difficult & painful to read, especially the stories behind the brutal, inhumane treatment of Blacks by whites in attempting to justify systemic racism, & whites cruelty towards people of color.
August 7, 2018
A very arresting book; it made me revise my thinking about the past & present racism in the United States.
June 2, 2019
Haunting images, thought provoking words.
March 26, 2021
Really insightful and lots of learning in this book. It has some graphic pictures that were very hard to look at (for the image and what it represents in our history).
Read
July 14, 2018recommend Flannery O'Connor's 1955 short story The Artificial Nigger.
Read
March 22, 2019305.896 P638 2018
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews