The cartoons of Henry Jackson Lewis in the Indianapolis Freeman : 1880-1891 : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

The portrayal of Afro-Americans in the late 1800s differed among white and black publications. Whites often viewed blacks as a homogeneous mass of people and, as a result, depicted a stereotype known as the Sambo image. In reality, the black race varied in many respects.In the late 1800s, a small professional class of African-Americans existed. These so-called "Aristocrats of Color" challenged the Sambo stereotype.In his cartoons, Henry Jackson Lewis, a black cartoonist working for The Freeman, depicted the existing economic and social distinctions between blacks of the late nineteenth century. This paper presents the life of Lewis and the mission of The Freeman and its editor, Edward E. Cooper. A discussion of the black aristocracy and examples of various individuals of this elite reveals how this group differed from the majority of the blacks. Among the aristocracy, the old elite consisted of those freed before the war and obtained a formal education while the newer elite arose following emancipation and focused on acquiring great wealth before an education.Lewis' cartoons exemplify the existence of this class and the tension within it between the old aristocracy and new aristocracy. These cartoons also portray the experiences of the black masses and how the black aristocracy treated and perceived the black masses.