My daughter wishes to study the World's Fairs of the 19th Century and
the early 20th Century in order to see how they may have created or
perpetuated stereotypes about minorities, particularly Africans or
American Negroes. She needs to trace the expositions and displays, how
they depicted blacks in general, and how those depictions might have
reflected or influenced the political and cultural attitudes of the
time. She needs to locate good resources.

Dear Milo, 

What an interesting topic! The following would provide you with much information. 

Peggy Brooks-Bertram, Dr. P.H. and  Barbara A. Seals Nevergold, Ph.D,
"Africans, Darkies and Negroes: Black Faces at the Pan American
Exposition of 1901, Buffalo, New York",
<http://wings.buffalo.edu/uncrownedqueens/history/black_faces/index.htm>

David J. Cope, "African Americans in 'The White City:' The World's
Columbian Exposition of 1893", Jim Crow History Website,
<http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_columbianexposition.htm>

David J. Cope, "African Americans in 'The World of Tomorrow': 1939",
ibid, <http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_newyorkfair.htm>

Dikkers, S. (1999). Family unit gazes happily into glorious, shining
future. Our dumb century. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Geppert, Alexander C.T., Jean Coffey and Tammy Lau: International
Exhibitions, Expositions Universelles and World's Fairs, 1851-1951: A
Bibliography, in: Wolkenkuckucksheim: Internationale Zeitschrift fur
Theorie und Wissenschaft der Architektur (Special Issue, 2000). URL:
<http://www.tu-cottbus.de/BTU/Fak2/TheoArch/Wolke/eng/Bibliography/ExpoBibliography.htm>
- general bibliography on exhibitions.

Chuck Holmgren, 2002. Conflicts in Cosmopolitanism: San Francisco's
Panama-Pacific International Exposition,
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA03/holmgren/ppie/index.html> - this
work demonstrates hot this particular exposition had racist
undertones.

PBS, "The World's Columbian Exposition (1893)" ,
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/houdini/peopleevents/pande08.html>:
"The Midways were not fun for everyone, though. African-Americans,
while free to come and go like anyone else, were made to feel
unwelcome. Unlike the exhibits celebrating the achievements of other
cultures, fake "African villages," according to Frederick Douglass,
had a very different purpose: "to exhibit the Negro as a repulsive
savage." At the Chicago fair, even Douglass?s effort to highlight the
progress of African Americans since the abolition of slavery
backfired, as organizers turned "Colored People?s Day" into a cruel
joke by offering free watermelons to African American fairgoers. As
examples like this show, the World?s Fairs were -- for better and for
worse -- true expressions of their age. "

Patton, Phil. "Sell the Cookstove if Necessary, but Come to the Fair."
Smithsonian 24: 3 (1993): 38-51.

Eugene F. Provenzo Jr. , " Exhibit of American Negroes",
<http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/Paris/home.htm>

Reed, Christopher Robert. All the World is Here!: The Black Presence
at White City. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 2000.

E. Rudwick and A. Meier, 'Black Man in the White City": Negroes and
the Columbian Exposition, 1893,' Phylon 26: 4 (1965).

Rydell, R.W. (1993). World of fairs: The century-of-progress
expositions.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Read book review: 
Thomas R. Cox "All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American
International Expositions, 1876-1916. ", Journal of San Diego History,
Summer 1986, Volume 32, Number 3
<http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/86summer/br-fair.htm>

Susman, W.I. (1980). The people's fair: Cultural contradictions of a
consumer society. In H.A. Harrison's (ed.), Dawn of a new day: The New
York world's fair, 1939/40 (pp. 17-27). New York: The Queens Museum.

Wood, Andrew, "African-Americans and the Prewar Fairs"
<http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/149/149syllabus12rydell.html>
(including the racist postcard which was part of the New York World
Fair):
Racism at the 1939-40: New York World's Fair 
<http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/149/149syllabus12racist2.html> 

Jim Zwick (ed)., _World's Fairs & Expositions: Defining America and
the World, 1876-1916_ <http://www.boondocksnet.com/expos/index.html> -
Go fair by fair and see discussions on the exhibitions and attitudes
exposed there. In particular, Zwick offers several pages on
African-Americans and the World Fairs:
African Americans at World's Fairs and Expositions 
<http://www.boondocksnet.com/expos/wfe_africanamericans.html> 

I hope that this answers your question. PLease contact me if you need
any clarifications on this answer before you rate it.

Hi,
Good question.  Almost everything perpetuated the stereotypes  - as
much still does today, despite political correctness.  I don't know
about the world's fairs, but am thinking of minsteral shows,  Buffalo
Bill's Wild West Show (Indians) that went to England and played before
Queen Victoria, films (Gone with the Wind), and  zoos (!).  I don't
think it was just in Germany (Hagenbeck's Zoo in Hamburg) that  even
in the early 20th c. sometimes had an US Indian encampment!

I heartily recommend these two very compelling books:

The non-fiction "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and
Madness at the Fair that Changed America," written by Erik Larson. The
book chronicles the 1893 World's Fair. Read about it at Amazon.com:
 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609608444/qid=1113442561/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/102-7036326-9308918
 
And the novel, "City Of Light," by Lauren Belfer, about the 1901
Pan-American Exposition, which was held in Buffalo. (This book deals
extensively with racial issues.)
See: 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/038533401X/qid=1113442786/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/102-7036326-9308918

Be sure to scroll down at both of those links so that you see all the
reviews. I've given you links to the hardcover editions, but both are
available in paperback, too.

I hope these two suggestions help. I'm sure one of my colleagues can
come up with a more extensive list.

Best regards,
nancylynn-ga
Google Answers Researcher

I would suggest expomuseum.com for a comprehensive list of World's
Fairs. The "Great Exhibition of 1851" has plenty of reference books
that will comment on the racism or "jingoism" of the time.  I would
also suggest a website from Univ. of California at Davis by is from
Geppert, Coffey and Lau "International Exhibitions, Expositions
Universelles and World's Fairs, 1851-1951: a bibliography".  It is
still in the works but very interesting.  I am afraid that one will
have to search these world's fairs individually either online or in
the library to be able to fully research the racism issue.  Many
people are interested in this topic and I am sure you will find plenty
of material if you can physically get to a university library and be
able to use their research tools that are available online.

You need to revisit the meaning of 19th century, as the great majority
of your references are to world fairs/exhibitions of the 20th century.
Definately not worth fifty bucks.  Next time try a research
librarian-- for free
: Sklar, Kathryn Kish and Shaughnessy, Erin. 
Title: HOW DID AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN DEFINE THEIR CITIZENSHIP AT THE
CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR IN 1893?
Citation: Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000
1997 1(0). <http://www.alexanderstreet6.com/wasm/wasm.toc.docprj.asp?sortorder=SunyIssue>
Women and Social Movements in the United States Alexander Street Press database  
 
Type: Article 
Author: Raibmon, Paige. 
Title: LIVING ON DISPLAY: COLONIAL VISIONS OF ABORIGINAL DOMESTIC SPACES. 
Citation: BC Studies [Canada] 2003-04 (140): 69-89.
 ISSN: 0005-2949 

Type: Article 
Author: Hoganson, Kristin. 
Title: FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE:
BOURGEOIS U.S. HOUSEHOLDS AS POINTS OF ENCOUNTER, 1870-1920.
Citation: Amerikastudien [Germany] 2003 48(1): 115-135.
ISSN: 0340-2827 

 
Type: Article 
Author: Zieren, Gregory. 
Title: AMERICAN MANUFACTURING, AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY AND THE LABOR
QUESTION AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE OF 1867.
Citation: Essays in Economic and Business History 2004 22: 313-323.
ISSN: 0896-226X 

 
Type: Article 
Author: King, John and Tranquada, Jim. 
Title: A NEW HISTORY OF THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE `UKELELE, 1838-1915. 
Citation: Hawaiian Journal of History 2003 37: 1-32.
ISSN: 0440-5145 
 
 
Type: Article 
Author: Denson, Andrew. 
Title: MUSKOGEE'S INDIAN INTERNATIONAL FAIRS: TRIBAL AUTONOMY AND THE
INDIAN IMAGE IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Citation: Western Historical Quarterly 2003 34(3): 325-345.
ISSN: 0043-3810 


 Type: Dissertation 
Author: Hubbard, Ladee. 
Title: "Mobility in America: The Myth of the Frontier and the
Performance of National Culture at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893."
Citation: DAI 2003 64(4): 1360-A. DA3089004

Greetings,
The zoo in Augsburg, Germany, is (or maybe now, was) planning an
"African Village" exhibition later this summer, which has just been
criticized for being racist.

I suspect that the organizers honestly saw it as an opportunity for
the Africans to present their culture and sell their handicrafts for a
few daya)