Black Memorabilia

Browse our collection, learn about the social history of black memorabilia, and donate your own pieces.

Collection

Containers & Holders

Salt & Pepper Shakers

Toys

Figures & More

Resources on the History of Black Memorabilia

"The Art and History of Black Memorabilia"
Reconstruction
"Reconstruction in America: Racial Violence after the Civil War, 1865-1876"
Jim Crow
"A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Jim Crow Era"
"Who Was Jim Crow?"
Minstrel Shows
"Blackface: The Birth of An American Stereotype"
"Mammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectables and American Stereotyping"
Mammy and the Famous Aunt Jemima
"The Mammy Caricature"
"Overlooked No More: Nancy Green, the ‘Real Aunt Jemima’"
"Aunt Jemima and the long-overdue rebrand of racist stereotypes"
The Uncle Figure: Uncle Tom, Uncle Mose, Uncle Rastus, and Uncle Ben
"Uncle: Race, Nostalgia, and the Politics of Loyalty"
"Uncle Ben's Rice Changes Name to More 'Equitable' Brand"
"The Tom Caricature"
Sambo
"'Little Black Sambo' and the Legacy of Image in African American Literature for Children."
"The Coon Caricature"
Picaninnies
"The Picaninny Caricature"
Black Cooks
"How Enslaved Chefs Helped Shape American Cuisine"
Black Jockeys
“Lawn Jockey Echoes Nation’s Complex History”
Watermelons
"How Watermelon’s Reputation Got Tangled in Racism"
“How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope”
Tribal Scenes
"The Long and Ugly Tradition of Treating Africa as a Dirty, Diseased Place"
"The Brute Caricature"
Toys
"Toys as History: Ethnic Images and Cultural Change”
"New Racist Forms of the 21st Century"
"Q&A: David Pilgrim, Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia Curator"

Have any pieces to donate? Contact us.

Help us put black memorabilia in museums, where they belong.

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Explore a gallery of the “Jim Crow & Negative Imagery” exhibit in our museum.

Since this digital catalog remains an ongoing project, the pieces displayed in our physical museum are not yet included on the website.

To see this exhibit in person, visit us on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 10AM-3PM at 4243 Loudoun Ave, The Plains VA.

Take a look at our Jim Crow exhibit

View Gallery

Statement:

We understand these objects may inflict offense through their embodiment of racist ideology by depicting stereotypical and discriminatory imagery and language. However, we hope to educate our community and encourage personal reflection through interacting and understanding the historical context of these objects, rather than ignoring them.

This catalog is an ongoing project as we continue adding new pieces and researching listed items. If you have any information about an object in this collection, please reach out to us at info@aahafauquier.org