The real issue: stereotypes of blacks in America

Black stereotypes span more than 400 years, beginning with the slave trade, in which slave traders targeted and captured blacks because they believed blacks were animals, without souls and were only good for one thing: hard labor. 

Slave traders, masters and people in general spread myths about blacks, for example, having "tails", living in "trees" and other unfortunate lies among other white colonists and settlers, to induce even more fear and hatred among them. 

For centuries, during slavery, images, myths and stereotypes of blacks, such as these, continued to hinder their progress. Societal stereotypes of blacks is evident in the fact that blacks were counted as only "three-fifths" of a person; denied citizenship and separated from whites because they were believed to be inferior and less intelligent, thus establishing Jim Crow laws and the mandated societal segregation that kept the races apart and whites ignorant of what black culture and life was truly about. Never was this ignorance more present than in the entertainment industry. 

"Minstrel shows," in which white, and even black, actors would dress up in "black face" and act out highly racist stereotypes of blacks, was a form of "entertainment" popular among white audiences during throughout the 19th century. 

Neither were such images weren't limited to actors shuffling around  as part of the main act on a playbill or just whites portraying blacks. Cartoons, movies, and various other forms of popular culture embraced representations of blacks as ignorant, lazy, over-sexed objects and animals - yes there were some monkeys in there too - quite frequently throughout this time. 

Worse yet, as "minstrel shows"  and "black face" gained popularity, they came to represent blacks and black culture to people of other ethnicities. Never was a representation of a people more far from reality. It would take years before blacks could even begin to shake these images that plagued them for so long. 

I say all this to point out how even though the cartoon was supposed to be satirical and was only meant to be a joke - we think - the fact remains that it stirs up some old and hateful images of time most people would like to think is behind us. Even though some people might argue let's put this behind us and forget about race, I think the important thing here is to remember that race does exist and no matter how you spin it we are all different and have to learn to interact with one another in a way that's genuinely non offensive and that puts more emphasis on what we truly know about the person or group of people from experience, not based on stereotypes and assumptions. 

So for those of you who say "who cares it's just a cartoon,"and "everybody is racist," take a moment to reflect on what you've just read and think about how the image of a "dead monkey" that's "not the president" would affect you if you knew the hate and ignorance behind that image (1) was targeted at people who look like you and (2) still wrongfully stereotypes you before you open your mouth or when you walk into a room. The fact is hate is real and we know it exists, so are we going to let it continue or will the buck stop here?