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"Rastus" appearing in an advertisement for Cream of Wheat, some time between 1901 and 1925

Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered offensive.^[1] As a type of stock character, Rastus is meant to portray ignorance and foolishness. Similar images have appeared in advertising, prominently as the mascot for Cream of Wheat, which prompted objections from activists.^[2]

History

Rastus has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name for black men at least since 1880, when Joel Chandler Harris included a black deacon named "Brer Rastus" in the first Uncle Remus book. However, Rastus (a shortening of Erastus, the Greek name of, especially, Erastus of Corinth) has never been particularly popular as a black name. For example, the 1870 census reported only 42 individuals named Rastus in the United States, of whom only four were Black or mulatto.^[3]

Rastus—as a stereotypically happy black man, not as a particular person—became a familiar character in minstrel shows. This is documented in Every Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy by Jim Comer,^[4] in fiction such as Adventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown (1906)^[5] and Rastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce,^[6] in popular songs such as Rastus, Take Me Back (1909)^[7] and (Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes 'Round (1905),^[8] on radio,^[9] and in films, most notably the 1908–1917 Rastus series of short films,^[10] with titles that included How Rastus Got His Chicken^[11] and Rastus Runs Amuck.^[12]

Rastus is also the name of the African-American character who first appeared on packages of Cream of Wheat cereal in 1893 and whose image remained the Cream of Wheat trademark until the 1920s,^[13] when it was replaced by a purported photograph of Frank L. White, a Chicago chef wearing a chef's hat and jacket; White claimed to have been the subject of the photograph used to make the image, but his name was never formally recorded.^[2] The food manufacturer announced in June 2020 that it was reviewing the packaging after concerns the chef character might perpetuate racist stereotypes.^[14] Cream of Wheat abandoned any human imagery on their packaging in late 2020 in response to concerns the chef's image perpetuated racist stereotypes.^[2]

Li'l Rastus was the nickname of an African American youth employed as a mascot by the Detroit Tigers from 1908 to 1910.

Ralph McGill, a staunchly anti-segregationist publisher and columnist for the Atlanta Constitution, was subjected to harassing telephone calls at home from racists asking for "Rastus" McGill.^[15]

Filmography

Rastus Runs Amuck
How Rastus Got His Chicken
How Rastus Gets His Turkey
Rastus Among the Zulus, extant short
Rastus Knew It Wasn't (1914)^[16]

Some promotional materials for Larry Semon's The Wizard of Oz (1925) identified the black farmhand Snowball as Rastus.^[17]

Theater

Broadway Rastus

References

^ Marilyn Kern Foxworth, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1994); Ronald L. Jackson, Scripting the Black Masculine Body 28 - 29 (2006); J. Emmett Winn, Documenting Racism in an Agricultural Extension Film, 38 Film & History 33 (Spring 2008); FAST-US-1 (TRENPK2) Introduction to American English, "Cursing: Obscenities, Expletives and 'Forbidden' Words." FAST-US-1 Intro to American English Reference File, 04-16-2007. Retrieved on 11-08-2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c Poinski, Megan (September 25, 2020). "Cream of Wheat chef will be removed from packaging, B&G says". fooddive.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
^ "Listserv 16.0". listserv.linguistlist.org. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
^ "Every Time I Turn Around". Angelfire.
^ www.bibliopolis.com. "The Adventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown by George W. Gunn on Classic Books and Ephemera". Classic Books and Ephemera.
^ Rastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce essentially a dead link with no information
^ Marie Dressler (30 November 1908). "Rastus, Take Me Back (Coon Song)" – via Internet Archive.
^ Arthur Collins. "Collected Works of Arthur Collins part 2" – via Internet Archive.
^ "Routledge". Routledge.com.
^ "Find - IMDb". IMDb.
^ How Rastus Got His Chicken at IMDb
^ Rastus Runs Amuck at IMDb
^ Dotz, Warren; Morton, Jim (1996). What a Character! 20th Century American Advertising Icons. Chronicle Books. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-8118-0936-6.
^ Poinski, Megan (June 18, 2020). "Uncle Ben, Cream of Wheat chef and Mrs. Butterworth all under review for racist imagery". fooddive.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
^ "Ralph McGill". May 2011.
^ Richards, Larry (17 September 2015). African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography. McFarland. ISBN 9781476610528.
^ David L. Greene and Dick Martin. The Oz Scrapbook. 1976.