Mammy : a century of race, gender, and Southern memory

"An engaging study of 'mammy,' the provocative figure of the African American nanny, cook, and housekeeper in white households . . . Wallace-Sanders reveals . . . disturbing innuendos of mammy still relevant today, in particular the elevation in value of raising others' children at the expense of one's own."---Choice"In this insightful analysis of representations of mammy, Wallace-Sanders skillfully illustrates how this core icon of Black womanhood has figured prominently in upholding hierarchies of race, gender, and class in the United States. Far from being a timeless, natural, benign image of domesticity, the idealized mammy figure was repeatedly reworked to accommodate varying configurations of racial rule. No one reading this book will be able to see Gone with the Wind in the same way ever again."---Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland"Kimberly Wallace-Sanders' interdisciplinary approach is first-rate. This expansive and engaging book should appeal to students and scholars in American studies, African American studies, and women's studies."---Thadious Davis, The University of PennsylvaniaHer cheerful smile and bright eyes gaze out from the covers of old cookbooks, song sheets, syrup bottles, salt and pepper shakers, and cookie jars, and she has long been a prominent figure in fiction, film, television, and folk art. She is Mammy, a figure whose provocative hold on the American psyche has persisted since before the Civil War.But who is Mammy, and where did she come from? Her large, dark body and her round smiling face tower over our imaginations to such an extent that more accurate representations of African American women wither in her shadow. Mammy's stereotypical attributes---a sonorous and soothing voice, raucous laugh, infinite patience, self-deprecating wit, and implicit acceptance of her own inferiority and her devotion to white children---all point to a long-lasting and troubled confluence of racism, sexism, and southern nostalgia.This groundbreaking book traces the mammy figure and what it has symbolized at various historical moments that are linked to phases in America's racial consciousness. The author shows how representations of Mammy have loomed over the American literary and cultural imagination, an influence so pervasive that only a comprehensive and integrated approach of this kind can do it justice.The book's many illustrations trace representations of the mammy figure from the nineteenth century to the present, as she has been depicted in advertising, book illustrations, kitchen figurines, and dolls. The author also surveys the rich and previously unmined history of the responses of African American artists to the black mammy stereotype, including contemporary reframings by artists Betye Saar, Michael Ray Charles, and Joyce Scott.Kimberly Wallace-Sanders is Associate Professor of the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts and Women's Studies at Emory University. She is editor of Skin Deep, Spirit Strong: The Black Female Body in American Culture. "An engaging study of 'mammy,' the provocative figure of the African American nanny, cook, and housekeeper in white households . . . Wallace-Sanders reveals . . . disturbing innuendos of mammy still relevant today, in particular the elevation in value of raising others' children at the expense of one's own." --- Choice "In this insightful analysis of representations of mammy, Wallace-Sanders skillfully illustrates how this core icon of Black womanhood has figured prominently in upholding hierarchies of race, gender, and class in the United States. Far from being a timeless, natural, benign image of domesticity, the idealized mammy figure was repeatedly reworked to accommodate varying configurations of racial rule. No one reading this book will be able to see Gone with the Wind in the same way ever again." ---Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland "Kimberly Wallace-Sanders' interdisciplinary approach is first-rate. This expansive and engaging book should appeal to students and scholars in American studies, African American studies, and women's studies." ---Thadious Davis, The University of Pennsylvania Her cheerful smile and bright eyes gaze out from the covers of old cookbooks, song sheets, syrup bottles, salt and pepper shakers, and cookie jars, and she has long been a prominent figure in fiction, film, television, and folk art. She is Mammy, a figure whose provocative hold on the American psyche has persisted since before the Civil War. But who is Mammy, and where did she come from? Her large, dark body and her round smiling face tower over our imaginations to such an extent that more accurate representations of African American women wither in her shadow. Mammy's stereotypical attributes---a sonorous and soothing voice, raucous laugh, infinite patience, self-deprecating wit, and implicit acceptance of her own inferiority and her devotion to white children---all point to a long-lasting and troubled confluence of racism, sexism, and southern nostalgia. This groundbreaking book traces the mammy figure and what it has symbolized at various historical moments that are linked to phases in America's racial consciousness. The author shows how representations of Mammy have loomed over the American literary and cultural imagination, an influence so pervasive that only a comprehensive and integrated approach of this kind can do it justice. The book's many illustrations trace representations of the mammy figure from the nineteenth century to the present, as she has been depicted in advertising, book illustrations, kitchen figurines, and dolls. The author also surveys the rich and previously unmined history of the responses of African American artists to the black mammy stereotype, including contemporary reframings by artists Betye Saar, Michael Ray Charles, and Joyce Scott. Kimberly Wallace-Sanders is Associate Professor of the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts and Women's Studies at Emory University. She is editor of Skin Deep, Spirit The Black Female Body in American Culture . Her Bright Eyes And Jolly Face Gaze Upon Us From The Covers Of Old Cookbooks, Syrup Bottles, Salt And Pepper Shakers, And Cookie Jars. She Is A Prominent Figure In Literature, Movies And Folk Art. She Is Mammy. But Who Is Mammy, And Where Did She Come From? And Why Is She Nearly Always Represented As A Large, Dark Woman With A Sonorous And Soothing Voice, Raucous Laugh, Infinite Patience, Self-deprecating Wit, And Implicit Understanding And Acceptance Not Only Of The World At Large But Of Her Inferiority And Devotion To Whites? In Truth, Mammy Is, As Most Stereotypes Turn Out To Be, Much More Complicated Than Is Assumed. In This Groundbreaking Study, Author Kimberly Wallace-sanders Presents The First Integrated Approach To The Story Of Mammy. The Author Traces The Literary And Cultural Evolution Of The Mammy Figure Through Historical Periods That Correspond To Principal Phases In America's Racial Consciousness. This Framework Sheds New Light On What The Figure Of The Black Mammy Symbolized At Various Historical Moments, And How Her Figure Looms Over The American Imagination, A Cultural Influence So Pervasive That Only This Kind Of Comprehensive And Integrated Approach Can Do It Justice. A Rich Array Of Illustrations Traces Cultural Representations Of The Mammy Figure From The Nineteenth Century To The Present, As She Has Been Depicted In Advertising, Commercial And Book Illustrations, Kitchen Figurines, Dolls--and In More Contemporary Reframings By Artists Including Andy Warhol, Betye Saar, Michael Ray Charles, And Joyce Scott. The Mammification Of The Nation : Mammy And The American Imagination -- A Love Supreme : Early Characterizations Of The Mammy -- Bound In Black And White : Bloodlines, Milk Lines, And Competition In The Plantation Nursery -- Dishing Up Dixie : Recycling The Old South -- Reconstructing Mammy At The Turn Of The Century; Or, Mark Twain Meets Aunt Jemima -- Southern Monuments, Southern Memory, And The Subversive Mammy -- Blown Away : Gone With The Wind And The Sound And The Fury -- Mammy On My Mind. Kimberly Wallace-sanders. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 163-175) And Index.

Representations of Mammy have had a pervasive influence on the American literary and cultural imagination. This groundbreaking book traces the mammy figure at various historical moments linked to phases in America's racial consciousness. Its comprehensive, integrated approach features color illustrations of varied depictions of the mammy figure from the nineteenth century to the present.

 

"An engaging study of ‘mammy,' the provocative figure of the African American nanny, cook, and housekeeper in white households . . . Wallace-Sanders reveals . . . disturbing innuendos of mammy still relevant today, in particular the elevation in value of raising others' children at the expense of one's own."
---Choice

 

"In this insightful analysis of representations of mammy, Wallace-Sanders skillfully illustrates how this core icon of Black womanhood has figured prominently in upholding hierarchies of race, gender, and class in the United States. Far from being a timeless, natural, benign image of domesticity, the idealized mammy figure was repeatedly reworked to accommodate varying configurations of racial rule. No one reading this book will be able to see Gone with the Wind in the same way ever again."
---Patricia Hill Collins, University of Maryland

Kimberly Wallace-Sanders is Associate Professor of the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts and Women's Studies at Emory University. She is editor of Skin Deep, Spirit Strong: The Black Female Body in American Culture.