The Avenger

Black Stereotypes in Popular Series Fiction, 1851-1955

Even well-meaning fiction writers of the late Jim Crow era (1900-1955) perpetuated racial stereotypes in their depiction of black characters. From 1918 to 1952, Octavus Roy Cohen turned out a remarkable 360 short stories featuring Florian Slappey and the schemers, romancers and ditzes of Birmingham's Darktown for The Saturday Evening Post and other publications. Cohen said, "I received a great deal of mail from Negroes and I have never found any resentment from a one of them." The black readership had to be satisfied with any black presence in the popular literature of the day. The best known white writers of black characters included Booth Tarkington (Herman and Verman in the Penrod books), Irvin S. Cobb (Judge Priest's houseman Jeff Poindexter), Roark Bradford (Widow Duck, the plantation matriarch), Hugh Wiley (Wildcat Marsden, the war veteran who traveled the country in the company of his goat) and Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden (radio's Amos 'n' Andy). These writers deservedly declined in the civil rights era, but left a curious legacy that deserves examination. This book, focusing on authors of series fiction and particularly of humorous stories, profiles 29 writers and their black characters in detail, with brief entries covering 72 others.

Divine Decrees Iii

This second edition adds about forty six pages to the first one and brings interesting declarations like, Victory over the Edomite or Fainting Spirit, Prayers against Tongues of Backbiters, Gossips and Evil Spirits, etc. Prayer is the art and act of communicating with God. It is our link with heaven and the realms of the spirit. It is the power source of any human being who desires to succeed Gods way. Prayer is our most important Christian duty after righteousness. It is an art because we have to engage in it according to biblical principles. It is an act because prayer cannot be totally delegated but be embarked upon daily and incessantly for individual victory. Communication with our bridegroom becomes a necessity for meaningful relationship. Prayer is the life giving breath of a modern day Christian. God does not do anything without speaking forth and this is the ministry of the prophet. John reveals that, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God (John1:1-3). God created the universe by spoken word. In the Hebrew language a word represents the very thing spoken because God created all things by His word. The word therefore defines the reality of the object. In the Hebrew the word for object devarim or dawbar is the same used for word because a word does not just represent size, colour, shape but the very spiritual essence since it was the word that brought it into existence. God made Adam to name all the animals He created because Adam had the ability to speak like God and become co-creative by the spoken word. Speaking should be backed up with faith and thats the reason why the spoken word is referred to as the spirit of faith. Our words are not supposed to be empty or void of power. God says, so shall my words be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it. (Isaiah 55:11).

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