Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is considered offensive.

History

"Rastus" has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for

black men Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

at least since 1880, when

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

included a black deacon named "Brer Rastus" in the first Uncle Remus book. However, Rastus (a shortening of Erastus, the Greek name of, especially, Erastus of Corinth) has never been particularly popular as a black name. For example, the 1870 census reported only 42 individuals named Rastus in the United States, of whom only four were Black or mulatto. Rastus—as a stereotypically happy black man, not as a particular person—became a familiar character in

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

s. This is documented in ''Every Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy'' by Jim Comer, in fiction such as ''Adventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown'' (1906) and ''Rastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce'', in popular songs such as ''Rastus, Take Me Back'' (1909) and ''(Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes 'Round'' (1905), on radio, and in films, most notably the ''Rastus'' series of short films, with titles that included ''How Rastus Got His Chicken'' and ''Rastus Runs Amuck''. Rastus is also the name of the African-American character who first appeared on packages of

Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat kernels instead of ground corn. It was first ...

cereal in 1893 and whose image remained the Cream of Wheat trademark until the 1920s, when it was replaced by a photograph of Frank L. White, a Chicago chef in chef's hat and jacket.

Li'l Rastus Ulysses Simon Harrison (born ), known as Li'l Rastus and Rastus Simon, was an African American teenager who served as a mascot of the Detroit Tigers baseball team from 1908 to 1910. Tigers mascot In the early 1900s, it was not unusual for Majo ...

was the nickname of an African American youth employed as a mascot by the Detroit Tigers from 1908 to 1910. Anti-segregation editorialist and publisher

Ralph McGill Ralph Emerson McGill (February 5, 1898 – February 3, 1969) was an American journalist and editorialist. An anti-segregationist editor he published the ''Atlanta Constitution'' newspaper. He was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Juror ...

was referred to as "Rastus" McGill by white supremacists.

Filmography

*''Rastus Runs Amuck'' *''How Rastus Got His Chicken'' * '' How Rastus Gets His Turkey'' *''Rastus Among the Zulus'', extant short *''Rastus Knew It Wasn't'' (1914)

Theater

*'' Broadway Rastus

References

External links

Connotations of the Names Rastus and Liza
An analysis from outside the U.S., from the Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere, Finland
blackface
From the personal website of william wu

From The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia

From The Museum of Public Relations
Collection of mid-twentieth century adverting featuring Rastus
from The TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design.
How Rastus Got His Turkey
(1910), Short film, Times Review.
Rastus Among the Zulus
(1913), Short film, fro
The Internet Movie Database

Rastus Runs Amuck
(1917), Short film, fro
The Internet Movie Database
{{African American caricatures and stereotypes Food advertising characters Male characters in advertising Stereotypes of African Americans Anti-African and anti-black slurs Mascots introduced in 1893

History

Filmography

Theater

See also

References

External links