Rastus

Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated with African Americans in the United States. It is considered highly offensive. [FAST-US-1 (TRENPK2) Introduction to American English. [http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/obscene.html "Cursing: Obscenities, Expletives and 'Forbidden' Words] ." FAST-US-1 Intro to American English Reference File, 04-16-2007. Retrieved on 11-08-2007.]

The name is sometimes given as "'Rastus", and it is likely a shortening of Erastus, a disciple of St. Paul mentioned in Acts 19:22, Romans 16:23, and 2 Timothy 4:20. "Rastus" has been used as a generic, 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. Contrary to popular belief, however, "Rastus" 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. [http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0712A&L=ADS-L&P=R5075]

Rastus—as any happy black man, not as a particular person—became a familiar character in minstrel shows (see, for example, [http://www.angelfire.com/oh/hydriotaphia/crow.html Every Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy] , retrieved May 3, 2006, and [http://www.counterpunch.org/yates09132003.html Racism and Poverty in Ford City, PA, 1959: Minstrel Show] , retrieved May 3, 2006), in books such as [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00085X11C "Adventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown"] and [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008A4QXY "Rastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce"] , in popular songs such as [http://www.archive.org/details/MarieDressler "Rastus, Take Me Back"] and [http://www.archive.org/details/ArthurCollins_part2 "(Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes 'Round"] , on radio [http://www.routledge-ny.com/radio/stereotypes.pdf] , and in films, most notably the [http://imdb.com/find?s=all&q=rastus Rastus series of short films] , with titles that included "How Rastus Got His Chicken" [imdb title|id=0135461|title=How Rastus Got His Chicken] and "Rastus Runs Amuck" [imdb title|id=0365670|title=Rastus Runs Amuck] .

Rastus is also the name of the African American character that first appeared on packages of Cream of Wheat cereal in 1890, and is still the Cream of Wheat trademark today. The image is believed to be from a photograph of Frank L. White, a Chicago chef who reportedly was paid five dollars to pose in a chef's hat and jacket. His face has been featured on the box with only slight modifications until the present day. [ [http://www.prmuseum.com/kendrix/trinity.html The Advertiser's Holy Trinity: Aunt Jemima, Rastus, and Uncle Ben] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US7/NAMES/rastliza.html Connotations of the Names Rastus and Liza] An analysis from outside the U.S., from the Department of Translation Studies, University of Tampere, Finland
* [http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wwu/truth/racism.shtml blackface] From the personal website of william wu
* [http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/dec04.htm Was the Cream of Wheat Chef a Real Person?] From The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
* [http://www.prmuseum.com/kendrix/trinity.html The Advertiser's Holy Trinity: Aunt Jemima, Rastus, and Uncle Ben] From The Museum of Public Relations
* [http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/gallery-view?advertiser=CREAM%WHEAT Gallery of vintage graphic design featuring Rastus]
* [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/236966/How-Rastus-Got-His-Turkey/overview How Rastus Got His Turkey] (1910), Short film, Times Review.
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391415/ Rastus Among the Zulus] (1913), Short film, from [http://www.imdb.com The Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365670/ Rastus Runs Amuck] (1917), Short film, from [http://www.imdb.com The Internet Movie Database]