Cultural Material and Mass Media Dissemination as the Foundations of White Supremacy Among Changing Populations

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Theories of Educational Histories

Abstract

This presentation analyzes and critiques the ways in which academic production, cultural materials, and various forms of popular culture have been used to acculturate, educate, demonstrate, and inculcate racist attitudes and behaviors into the general public. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, this research reveals how both rural and urban populations were consciously and subconsciously exposed to racist attitudes and behaviors which reinforced White Supremacy. Critical analyses of the grotesque elements of County Fairs, newspaper advertisements, popular songs and theatrical productions indicated the ambiguities in the way in which public officials and the general public reacted differently to the disharmony and racial tensions in a constantly changing America.

Author

• Robert Kenlaw, Notre Dame of Maryland University