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New Inventions: The TV and Telephone
Of
all the inventions that have shaped modern American
society, the television and telephone are among the
most significant. For those living in Independence Heights,
the impact of each of these two inventions is quite
memorable.
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_____Sarah
Jenkins has fond recollections of her family’s first television
and telephone. “My sister had one and we would go there
in the evening and all sit around her television,” she says
with a smile. It was another one of Mrs. Jenkins’ sisters
who purchased the family’s first telephone. She explains
that this sister lived across the street from her, so “if
we got a phone call, we’d go over to my sister’s and answer
the phone . . . She’d call us from across the street.” |
_____Jonas
& Arlecie Bolton clearly remember how the television transformed
Independence Heights. When asked about television’s impact,
Mrs. Bolton laughs as she says, “It was so much quieter
[before TV]. You knew where the children were.” At the same
time, the Boltons recall their disappointment that television
did not reflect the diversity of their community. Mr. Bolton
says that he “hoped that someday [there] would be more”
African American actors on television shows. |
_____Vivian
Seals’ memories of television are quite similar to the Boltons’.
The lack of African Americans on television, says Mrs. Seals,
“bothered me to the extent that I knew we had [black] people
who were qualified to go on TV, but it took them a long
time to acknowledge it, and to take part.” |
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_____Furthermore,
according to Mrs. Seals, when African Americans were on
television, she “objected to the way [television shows]
portrayed black people. They were either ‘Amos and Andy’
or ‘Stepin Fetchit’—a clown. [Television shows] always made
us look bad. We always had a maid role or something where
you were acting silly . . . They never portrayed blacks
as a people of culture . . . and it was a long time before
black actors and actresses were recognized as being really
actresses [and actors] who could win awards in movies.” |
_____Although
it began as a radio show, Amos and Andy became one of the
most historically significant television series as the first
TV show to have an all-black cast. But the show’s history
was not all positive, as it portrayed characters in stereotyped
images while African Americans were trying to break down
those very stereotypes. |
_____The
original radio series was created by two white actors, who
played all of the “black” characters, including the two
main characters–Amos Jones, the owner of a taxi company
and Andy Brown, Amos’ zany business partner. With the increased
popularity of television, Amos and Andy became a television
series in 1951. |
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_____Although
in some sense it was an accomplishment for black television
actors and actresses, at the same time, Amos and Andy
sparked controversy among African Americans who felt it
promoted racial stereotypes and portrayed all blacks as
fumbling, illiterate, or criminal.
_____In
1953, Amos and Andy was taken off the air amid increasing
protest from blacks and fear that whites would reject
products advertised on the show.14 It would be twenty
years before another show with an all black cast would
be on prime time network television
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_____Lincoln
Perry, better known as Stepin Fetchit, was a successful
black actor who made more than 40 movies in just 50 years.
In many ways, he was the model of success, as he became
the first black millionaire in the United States. But he
angered many African Americans because of the type of “black”
character that he portrayed. He often played wide-eyed,
lazy, slovenly and inarticulate characters, thus reinforcing
an unfair stereotype of the behavior of African Americans.
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