Jack Benny in 1938 - tells a racist joke?

On the Jack Benny Show, episode #312, 381127 Flash Benny, Football Star, Jack makes what seems like an ill-advised joke about a watermelon and Alabama. (Recall that in 1938, there were no black college football players, so the joke seems to be referring to the state of Alabama. In 1938 Alabama was certainly first or second in African-American population.)

Phillips Lord hired a "colored boy" to worry for him

1937 - Notice it says "it" instead of "he"

#'s 8-12 Amos 'n' Andy 1930 (very stereotyped)

#5, #6, #7: More Amos 'n' Andy from 1930

#1, #3, #4 More Amos 'n' Andy from the 1930 Pittsburgh Press

I posted #2 yesterday.

Early Amos 'n' Andy depicted as monkeys?

Superman radio was cutting-edge

It won a Brotherhood Award for speaking out on intolerance.

from 1947

Fred Allen meets Rochester (racial slur?)

In 1938, during the famous Fred Allen-Jack Benny "feud", Allen got the chance to meet Rochester, Benny's butler. It really sounds to me as if he racially insults him by calling him a "nougatine Jeeves." What do you think?




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Are OTR enthusiasts racist?

If you are even half as enthusiastic as I am about OTR, every month you probably hear the words, "Jap" or "Kraut" or "Negro."   There are other words we hear but more rarely: "nip" being one.

During World War II it was "acceptable" to be racist - even though an anti-race message is many times being brought forward in the same program (for instance, in The Adventures of Superman, there are conflicting racial tides all over the place during the war and a little bit even after the war.)

The US Goverment itself put out "racist" messages in propaganda, in the US and over in Europe - not to mention Japan.

Is it morally wrong to listen to Amos 'n' Andy? Is this something you ever think about?  Are different races being made "fun" of in that show or is it any different that say, Duffy's Tavern, where everyone on the show is presented with a below-average intellegence?

Chester Riley (Life of Riley) is no different than the Kingfish on Amos 'n' Andy: he's always trying to get a fast buck.  Same goes for characters throughout television history: Ralph Kramden and Fred Flintstone, for examples.

I'm not presenting a case one way or another.  It's just something I often think about.