Emancipation

Lincoln’s Licorice Lads and Lassies: To augment your refreshment schedule, it is suggested that you pass around little men and women made of black gum drops, a fitting gesture in view of the thousands of men, women and children liberated by the Great Emancipator. From: The Year Round Party Book: games riddles decorations and recipes for every red letter day! By William P. Young and Horace J. Gardner (1936)

In this quote, clearly written by, and intended for, white people we are reminded of the heroism of the Great Emancipator, and not the heroism of the nameless freed slaves themselves.  The humanity of the “freed slave” is further trivialized by the act of creating hundreds of black licorice people for a party of white folks to devour.  Though this book was written in the mid 1930s, and clearly many things have changed since then, racial hierarchies are still maintained through myriad casual “suggestions” that imply positions of heroism, neutrality and authority.

Inspired by the absurdity of this suggestion, the character Whitey reenacts, with exaggerated zeal, the activity of eating the little men and women made from black licorice.  As she chews her mouth overflows with the fluid of masticated men, women and children, dripping onto her clothes, the table in front of her and eventually the floor.

Whitey is a character created to de-naturalize whiteness and draw attention to the construction of racial identity by applying white-face, wearing a white Imperial wig, and dressing entirely in white.