Second Essay Rough Draft

Steven
Due Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Second Essay Rough Draft

Due to the dominant force of consumption in the nation, African-Americans were able to positively represent themselves by purchasing elegant items and displaying their sophistication in everyday life as well as through the medium of photography.

The rising phenomenon of consumption in America influenced Blacks profoundly, particularly in cultural ways as they battled to prove their legitimacy as Americans. Consumption was on the rise due to a variety of reasons, namely convenience and the nature of the economy at the time. Consumerism and Americanism become intertwined and interdependent concepts. As Whites earned more money, so did some Blacks. As Whites sought to define themselves by what they bought and wore, naturally so did some Blacks. The ideals of these two groups of Americans were largely the same. As Alain Locke explained in his article Enter the New Negro:
The Negro mind reaches out as yet to nothing but American wants, American ideas. But this forced attempt to build his Americanism on race values is a unique social experiment, and its ultimate success is impossible except through the fullest sharing of American culture and institutions.

Locke argues that of course Blacks, just as much as Whites, have the same aspirations. Given that we are all human, we tend to have similar dreams for ourselves. However, at the time, such ideals seemed more farfetched for Blacks, who were enduring Jim Crow discrimination and demeaning signification from the dominant culture. African-Americans had to delicately balance how they went about consumerism, self-representation, and cultural claims during this critical point in history.

Some African Americans made cultural claims with their outward appearance, relying on the trend of consumerism to prove their point. In Unequal Sisters: A Multi-Cultural Reader in U.S. Women’s History, edited by Vicki Ruiz and Ellen DuBois, it is stated that, “stylishness and adornment were ideals cultivated by post-bellum African Americans, signifying freedom and respectability,” (374). The popular notion was that outward appearance had implications and significations. Black men and women who were fashionable and physically decorated sent the message to the rest of America that they were liberated, affluent, and deserving of esteem. As the journal explains, “Beauty culture promised self-transformation that was both internal and external, an idea that resonated powerfully in American middle-class culture,” (375). Whites and Blacks, males and females were convinced that what one wore was a channel for social progression. Blacks took this notion particularly seriously, as they sought to prove their social standing and Americanism with their outward appearance. Blacks definitely countered negative portrayals from the dominant culture by consuming in certain ways and presenting themselves in a positive light. For middle-class Black men, suits, ties, fancy shoes, and other related clothing indicated being educated, professional, and wealthy. For middle-class Black women, makeup, maintained hair, and posh clothing indicated modernity, femininity, and wealth. In an era when most of the nation attempted to stereotype and belittle Blacks, these middle class African-Americans who had achieved success proved their point (through the medium of consumerism) and made their statements partly by their outward appearance.

Particularly important to middle-class Black women was the factor of cosmetics in proving their Americanism and sophistication. Cosmetic companies were designing makeup specifically for women of color in the late nineteenth century. Blacks had even less spending money than their White counterparts, but many entrepreneurs saw business potential in enthusiastic Black consumers. As Unequal Sisters explains, “In this century, cosmetics use has been inextricably tied to the emergence of a mass consumer industry,” (372). Given this link, and the idea that consumerism and self-representation were also closely associated at this time, middle-class Blacks took advantage of such concepts in order to present an image of progression and sophistication to the world. Black women adorned makeup to prove their elegance and in turn their Americanism. The Unequal Sisters article broaches the topic of how black women were portrayed in cosmetic advertisements:

Companies selling cosmetics to Blacks also used images of refinement and social improvement to sell their products, but this strategy must be placed in the overall context of racial stereotyping and Black aspirations. The advertising for the highly successful Overton-Hygienic Manufacturing Company, for example, featured light-skinned, refined-looking, women and appealed more to respectability and gentility than elitism. In contrast, Kashmir Chemical Company, a Black-owned firm with a brief life in the late 1910s and early 1920s, frequently used advertising with very fashionably dressed women sitting at dressing tables or in automobiles—ads that emulated the elite images common in mainstream magazines.

This article presents an interesting interpretation of the advertising taking place. White-owned companies would present the so-called, stereotypical ideals to which Black women aspired—that of light skin and “white blood.” In contrast, Black-owned companies made sure to present constructive images of African-Americans. These ads featured luxuriously-clothed women in glamorous situations—by their nice, new cars or in a chic room in the house. With images and in everyday life, cosmetics were just one tool that African-Americans utilized to disprove stereotypes of being unrefined, and instead make a positive statement about Blacks, their beauty, their elegance, and their Americanism.

In order to counter the prevalent negative images of the day, James Van Der Zee produced photographs of Blacks with positive signification, crucial cultural claims, all in an effort to make the statement that Blacks were fully American. The photograph as well as the caption “Madame Alelia Walker’s tea parlor, part of her successful beauty salon” make known that Walker and her clients are sophisticated. They are a graceful community of stylish individuals, relaxing in the lounge area of Walker’s successful business. “Family portrait with children at piano” really makes a statement. The husband stands proudly in his suit and his leather shoes. The children diligently practice their talent on the expensive instrument. The mother adoringly watches over her children. The middle-class black family is finally depicted as what it is—well-to-do, refined, and loving. Common in his photographs iss the theme of consumerism as it relates to personal representation. The African-Americans in his pictures are viewed as classy because of what they wear, how their hair is, and the items that surround them. “Here James superimposed a wartime cartoon on his portrait of a soldier,” makes a bold statement about Americanism. A Black male soldier reflects his time of service and his place in his country. He has fought in defense of his nation, but is he considered equal among all of its citizens? At this point in time, the answer is most certainly “No.” This photograph, however, makes an appeal to the nation. It argues that this man has courageously served the U.S. military; he and the rest of his race deserve equal treatment, respect, and opportunity. Through such photographs, Van Der Zee makes his case for Black people, arguing that they are equal, patriotic, American, and capable of being (some of who are already) stylish, sophisticated, wealthy.

Due to the dominant force of consumption in the nation, African-Americans were able to positively represent themselves by purchasing elegant items and displaying their sophistication in everyday life as well as through the medium of photography. This is significant because Blacks finally got the chance to present a positive view of themselves in reality and in person, as well as through pictures. The impact and success of such representations is up for debate, but it is certain that many African-Americans made a loud and bold statement to the nation.