"Rastus" appearing in an advertisement forCream of Wheat, some time between 1901 and 1925
Rastus is a pejorative term traditionally associated withAfrican Americans in theUnited States. It is considered offensive.[1] As a type ofstock character, Rastus is meant to portray ignorance and foolishness. Similar images have appeared in advertising, prominently as the mascot forCream of Wheat, which prompted objections from activists.[2]
Rastus has been used as a stereotypical, often derogatory, name forblack men at least since 1880, whenJoel Chandler Harris included a black deacon named "Brer Rastus" in the firstUncle Remus book. However, Rastus (a shortening of Erastus, the Greek name of, especially,Erastus of Corinth) 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 ormulatto.[3]
Rastus—as a stereotypically happy black man, not as a particular person—became a familiar character inminstrel shows. This is documented inEvery Time I Turn Around: Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy by Jim Comer,[4] in fiction such asAdventures of Rufus Rastus Brown in Darktown (1906)[5] andRastus Comes to the Point: A Negro Farce,[6] in popular songs such asRastus, Take Me Back (1909)[7] and(Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What You Going to Do When the Rent Comes 'Round (1905),[8] on radio,[9] and in films, most notably the 1908–1917Rastus series of short films,[10] with titles that includedHow Rastus Got His Chicken[11] andRastus Runs Amuck.[12]
Rastus is also the name of the African-American character who first appeared on packages ofCream of Wheat cereal in 1893 and whose image remained the Cream of Wheat trademark until the 1920s,[13] when it was replaced by a purported photograph ofFrank L. White, a Chicago chef wearing a chef's hat and jacket; White claimed to have been the subject of the photograph used to make the image, but his name was never formally recorded.[2] The food manufacturer announced in June 2020 that it was reviewing the packaging after concerns the chef character might perpetuate racist stereotypes.[14] Cream of Wheat abandoned any human imagery on their packaging in late 2020 in response to concerns the chef's image perpetuated racist stereotypes.[2]
Li'l Rastus was the nickname of an African American youth employed as a mascot by the Detroit Tigers from 1908 to 1910.
Ralph McGill, a staunchly anti-segregationist publisher and columnist for theAtlanta Constitution, was subjected to harassing telephone calls at home from racists asking for "Rastus" McGill.[15]
^Marilyn Kern Foxworth,Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1994); Ronald L. Jackson,Scripting the Black Masculine Body 28 - 29 (2006); J. Emmett Winn,Documenting Racism in an Agricultural Extension Film, 38 Film & History 33 (Spring 2008); FAST-US-1 (TRENPK2) Introduction to American English,"Cursing: Obscenities, Expletives and 'Forbidden' Words." FAST-US-1 Intro to American English Reference File, 04-16-2007. Retrieved on 11-08-2007.
