Self-described “ultimate destination for all things home” mega site Apartment Therapy has a history of troubling racial and class content and it continues this tradition by featuring a Michael Jon Watt-produced before and after [note: article is down as of 8/17/10 10:00 PM EST] that boasts a Mammy cookie jar. Mammy, of course, is in the ‘after’:
via Apartment Therapy
The post was met with enthusiastic approval for its innovative kitchen cabinet treatment(apparently a lot of people did not realize you can paint laminate cabinets–you can paint laminate cabinets, ok?) that mostly ignored the issue of the Mammy stereotype entirely. There were a few critical responses and a number reactions such as the following comments [sic]:
“I’ll take that cookie jar, too…. 
”
“What if it was the person happened to like antiques? Maybe they have a thing for antique cookie jars? I’m sorry but I don’t see a racist behind very bush.”
“Great, now I have to run around my house removing everything that hints at the sins of the past – my complete works of Shakespeare (anti-semitic), my Nina Simone CDs (containing reminders of slavery) . . . On a less sarcastic note, if I had that mammy cookie jar it would remind me, every time I used it, to be grateful that I live in an era where such racial lampooning is over.”
“…[My grandmother] looked quite like that Mammy cookie jar, a large, smiling black woman, almost a caricature herself. She also owned one of those jars…I ‘get’ what Mammy represents; and yet I still find nothing wrong w/ the jar. Michael could be a white supremacist who does a jig every time he eats a cookie from the jar and I still wouldn’t care. Of course I’m sure Michael is nothing like that, he lives in Portland. 
”
“Knock off the Mammy jar critcism. Jeez!”
“The funniest (and most racist) thing about the comments on the cookie jar are the assumptions that Michael is a white guy!”
Racial stereotypes, particularly when presented and consumed by mostly white, mostly economically privileged audiences with no context (historical, educational) continue the legacy, and ensure the primacy, of racial oppression regardless of intent or unexpressed purpose. Without context, there is no reconciliation of a stereotype that paints black women as fecund, greedy, sassy but profoundly unintelligent denizens of the greasy pot, the blackened pan, the diaper-soiled nursery. There is only pain for one side and triumph for the other.
Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, Mammy and Uncle Tom fictional characters
It’s telling that one commenter, bespf, actually conflated the Mammy stereotypes of Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima with real African American cook, entrepreneur and author Sylvia Woods, remarking sarcastically that people who objected to the cookie jar would have to restrict their food options; “No Aunt Jemima pancakes/syrup, Uncle Ben’s Rice or Sylvia’s Soulfood for you!” The conflation of Sylvia Woods (again, real) with Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben (characters, unreal) illustrates exactly how the stereotype affects actual women, today; black women (particularly those who are large and dark, elderly or disabled, who are domestic in any way) still have to contend with the spectre of a figure constructed in the Western imagination to reify black subjugation through chattel slavery, colonialism, peonage and systematic disadvantage. What does it matter, really, if you own a woman (or underpay her; or marginalize her), if she’s fat and happy and always willing to give you a cookie?
Confused as a 'Mammy' stereotype. Sylvia Woods, Owner of Sylvia's Soul Food and her product packaging
Some will argue that the antebellum has nothing to do with the second millennium but with citizens and politicians all over the South still championing the Confederacy, calling for secession and enjoying Confederate home decor clearly we have not come far enough. And anyone who believes ‘mammy’ is no longer a relevant slur would be well advised to scan this hate forum [NSFW; may be triggering] and disabuse themselves of any such illusions.
Share your impressions, please, in the comments. Thoughtful anonymous comments are welcome, as always.
Further reading to understand the Mammy stereotype:
The American Prospect: Understanding why Mammy is NOT a Positive Stereotype
Harriet’s Daughter: “Mammy”
Wikipedia: “Mammy”
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UPDATE: As of 8/17/10 10:00 PM Apartment Therapy has taken down the original article. Other shots of the kitchen in a house tour have also been taken offline and all comments about the cookie jar have been excised.
There is a statement from the homeowner, also currently offline, that was published 8/15/2010:
“Wow. I see that my kitchen make-over has garnered quite a bit of debate … because of my cookie jar. *sigh*
I can assure you that I am not a racist, and I have the cookie jar as a reminder of personal memories of somebody I knew in my life.
And, yes, I am gay so I know what it feels like to be marginalized and judged by people who do not even know who I am. That being said I realize we all have symbols that resonate with us emotionally – whether they be good or bad.
So, I am sorry that my cookie storage offended some of you – but the meaning for me is from a loving place.”
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