Jim Crow (Symbol)
The image of "Jump Jim Crow" first emerged in 1828 as a way to satirize Andrew Jackson's presidential policies. The caricature featured a white actor in blackface who would sing and dance in an exaggerated manner. As time progressed, Jim Crow became a racist symbol used to represent Black Americans. Towards the end of the 19th century, Southern lawmakers passed racial segregation legislature that was directed against Black people. These set of laws were later referred to as Jim Crow laws and were not fully abolished until the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts in the 1960s.
"Stamped" (Motif)
In 1860, Jefferson Davis gave a speech to Congress. During this speech, Davis argued that Black people were unquestionably inferior and were thus undeserving of equal rights. Davis argued that "the inequality of the white and black races" was "stamped from the beginning" and could be confirmed by both religious and historical doctrine. Kendi reframes Davis's argument. Racial inequality was not stamped from the beginning. Rather, racist ideas that were later integrated into national laws and policies have been "stamped" into the blueprint of the United States. This idea of being "stamped," or, of being depicted as undoubtedly inferior, remains a recurring motif throughout the book.
Tarzan (Allegory)
Reynolds and Kendi draw upon various examples to demonstrate the influential power of storytelling. These stories remind the reader of the attitudes and feelings that dominated the time period in which they were written. Tarzan is one such story. In Tarzan of the Apes (1914), Tarzan is an orphaned child who is raised within the African kingdom of the apes. As he grows into adulthood, Tarzan becomes stronger and more intelligent than the "barbaric African apes" that raised him. Later in the story, Tarzan rescues Jane, a white woman, from being ravaged by the apes. In this way, the author portrayed Africans as racially inferior savages. In addition, the narrative frames white women as victims that must be saved from "predatory" Black men. Tarzan was indicative of the racial attitudes of the time. Many Black men were killed both by the state and by mobs for making advances on white women, and were portrayed in the media as sexually-lewd savages.
Transforming Ideas (Motif)
Stamped chronicles numerous leaders that underwent transformations throughout the course of their respective political careers. For example, W.E.B. Du Bois was a staunch assimilationist when he began organizing in the 19th century. As time progressed, however, he became aware that many of his ideas excluded poorer, uneducated Black people from the liberation movement. He changed his approach to question how he may have internalized ideas of white supremacy, and he later committed himself to taking a more radical, antiracist approach. This idea of evolving intellectually is meant to inspire readers to do the same. Reynolds and Kendi encourage readers to question their beliefs and commit to taking an active stance against combatting racism.
Racism in Science (Motif)
The authors investigate how racism has flourished in quantitative fields, namely science and mathematics. In the 18th and 19th centuries, eugenics was considered the cornerstone of science. Eugenics is "the study of how to arrange reproduction within a human population to increase the occurrence of heritable characteristics regarded as desirable." It was largely developed in the 17th century by scientist Francis Galton as a method of improving the human race. Eugenics provided racists with scientific "evidence" that their genetic makeup was superior. Although eugenics came under scrutiny with the rise of Nazism in the 20th century, the intersection of racism and science continue to permeate modern culture. For example, IQ tests and standardized tests are viewed as objective markers of human intellect. However, the creation and widespread adaptation of these tests exist to oppress Black and Brown populations.
