Representation as a Form of Resistance: Documenting African-American Spaces of Leisure during the Jim Crow Era

FAIN: FT-285920-22

Elizabeth Patton
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD 21250-0001)

Research leading to a book about how African Americans have used media representations of leisure destinations such as hotels, beaches, swimming pools, and amusement parks to navigate and resist racism. 

This research project examines the history of Black leisure and tourism in the US through the lens of media, primarily focusing on the Jim Crow era, to put into context lingering forms of racism that affect African American leisure practices today. Previous studies on race and leisure take a historical or ethnographic perspective but do not consider media as a primary archival source and the cultural work of images in shaping our understanding of the relationship between African American identity formation, acts of resistance and leisure. Specifically, this research focuses on how media, such as advertisements, photographs, and home videos have been used to document and promote leisure practices as a form of covert resistance. This research provides a counter-narrative to consumption-based and white-washed popular representations of tourism.