Caricature and Racism in US History

How did caricatures of black Americans influence social attitudes in the United States after the Civil War?

Below are a series of images reflecting the growth and entrenchment of socially confining assumptions about black men, especially, in the fifty years after the Civil War. I present them as a PowerPoint and discuss their potential impact on student opinions of proposals mad by great black thinkers of the time (see previous post.)

The 19th century pseudo-science of physiogamy purported to discern personal and intellectual traits based on physical appearance.

"Jim Crow" was the name for an act performed by a white man in black face ridiculing Jacksonian policies

Note the exaggerated physical characteristics, in part built on the foundation of "Jim Crow."

These assumptions about blacks were s  ingrained in the culture that they appeared everywhere

White entertainers, in black face, "informed" audiences of what constituted "normal" for black men. Even black entertainers were expected to blacken their faces.

Sean Delonas, of the New York Post clearly drew on these caricatures in this 2009 cartoon. What could he have been thinking? The Post apologized, but denied any racist intent. In an editorial, the paper said "sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon." Even such a denial reinforces the subconscious nature of prejudices reflected in caricature. What could it possibly mean?