In late December of 1951, a news story out of Mims, Florida, shocked the nation. The story contained elements of prejudice, discrimination, injustice, lynching, rape, bombings, and murder. The story not only made headlines across the country, but also the world. On the evening of December 25, a bomb was placed under the floor joists of the bedroom…

This series of quotes documents negative statements about various racial, religious, and socio-economic groups. The quotes cover a time period from 1787 through 1987. All of them were made by persons of note such as U.S. presidents, members of congress, authors, and journalists. (VM)

An historical overview traces the Black Legend about persons of Spanish descent and seeks to demonstrate the influence of the Black Legend on Anglo attitudes towards Mexican Americans. The beginnings of the Black Legend are found in the sixteenth century when European countries in conflict with Spain used Spanish actions during the Sack of Rome,…

Cherokee Female Seminary in Indian Territory provided high quality education for Cherokee girls, 1851-1909. However, the school repressed Cherokee traditions and values, glorified White ways and appearance, and fostered a social class system that paralleled tribal tensions between mixed-bloods and full-bloods and between traditionalists and…

Reflects on four aspects of the history of developmental psychology. Notes that the discipline has followed a path from fact collection without theory, to grand theories, to a profusion of minitheories; expanded focus from child to lifespan development; exhibited increased cross-disciplinary interests; and become more sensitive to addressing…

Examines sexual stereotypes in selected professional writing textbooks published from the 1930s to the 1950s. Maintains that these textbooks--portraying women as subservient, emotional, and frivolous, and men as decisive, logical, and strong--suggest that men are more suited for positions of authority, and have played an important role in…

Proposes that a direct and authoritative challenge to the scientific racism of the late eighteenth and early twentieth centuries was urgently needed, and was one of the leading rhetorical contributions of W.E.B. DuBois. Specifically examines three issues: social Darwinism, the eugenics movement, and psychologists' measurement of intelligence.…

The brutality toward women, minority groups, underclasses, and the environment, that has haunted western civilization is linked to the three great western religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Further, it is suggested that capitalism is a primary mechanism by which this brutality is implemented. The book begins with a survey of western…

Analyzes male occupational stratification for 35 ethnic populations, defined by race and national origins. While racial and Spanish-origin minorities had average occupational statuses far below that of White males of native parentage, most European ethnics were equal to or only slightly below the majority population in 1940 and 1950. (AF)

Examines role of early children's books on Black life in fostering misunderstanding between the races. Traces the history of children's literature accurately depicting African American culture and experience and the development of standards for the genre. Argues for children's literature that is not only nonbiased but actively antibias. (AF)

Examines the portrayal of the Black experience on television in relation to civil rights legislation during the period. Reviews various television programs and finds that despite an increase in the number of Black characters on the air, stereotyping has remained a problem. (FMW)

Any study of the history of psychology must first determine what is to be considered psychology, whether to stick to the relatively continuous Western tradition or to include others (e.g., Eastern, Oriental), and whether to investigate the impact of the socio-cultural events of the time on the views of that period or consider those views in a…

Part of a larger rhetorical biography, this essay examines several of the narratives of the southern writer and humorist, Irvin S. Cobb (1876-1944), to understand the unhappy "ordinary experience" of Southern racism and sexism. Following a biographical introduction, the first section discusses Cobb's narratives, while the second deals…

Despite advances in civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, racial and ethnic prejudice and discrimination remain deeply entrenched in American society. Chronicles political and social trends, including White backlash and the perpetuation of socioeconomic stratification, that have undercut progress toward equality. Examines the persistence of…

Discusses the rejection of popular racist beliefs of the nineteenth century by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in its missionary interactions with American Indians. Identifies the ethnocentrism at that time as distinct from racism and suggests reasons for the commonality of the former and the rejection of the latter. (AEM)