An American Inheritance: Games / Media

Board games were first developed in the 1830s and became more popular with American middle-class families as racial prejudice and segregation grew across the country in the late nineteenth century. These games showed intense white hostility toward African Americans. They created worlds where Black people were targets of violence and were shown as enjoying that violence. Card games also reinforced harmful stereotypes. “Old Maid,” oneof the most popular games played by American children, featured characters such as “Lily White,” “Jazzbo Jackson,” and “Melon Moe.” Children’s games, like children’s stories, taught children these racist stereotypes.

During the Jim Crow Era, there was a game called Salisbury. White children used the game to copy real-world racial terror lynchings. These lynchings took place in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1902 and 1906. Rather than hiding racial violence from children, they were brought along and normalized the violence as a civic duty and a form of morbid entertainment.

Organized resistance to these portrayals in games came after the Great Migration. White manufacturers began to reduce the use of Black caricatures and images of direct violence against Black people. However, stereotypes continued to be recreated in board and card games.

After World War II, the Black consumer market grew. For the most part, Black entrepreneurs met the demand for games that encouraged Black pride.