Judge Priest - A Stereotypical Portrayal of African-Americans

A Stereotypical Portrayal of African-Americans

Judge Priest portrays its Black roles controversially. Time Magazine deemed Judge Priest one of the twenty-five “Most Important Films on Race.” Most of this controversy stems from Stepin Fetchit’s stereotypical black portrayal of Jeff Poindexter. In addition, Hattie McDaniel portrays Aunt Dilsey as a stereotypical, happy, black house-servant. In Judge Priest, Blacks are portrayed as happily submissive to the whites. For example, when Rome comes running home, Jeff Poindexter throws open the gate for him. While the whites are all having a good time celebrating at the church social, all the black townspeople are busily working preparing the candy. The blacks happily prepare the taffy. This does not play into the stereotypical “lazy” black worker. Rather, this is how many southern slave owners viewed their slaves: happy to labor for the white man. John Ford satirizes the slave owner’s moral justification for slavery.

The film, despite taking place in the South, shows Blacks and whites getting along very well. In fact, Judge Priest and Jeff Poindexter (a black man) are almost best friends in the film. It is an awkward friendship. They go fishing together. However, when Jeff forgets the bait he is forced to go back to town. Jeff Poindexter, on the other hand, does not join the Judge when he plays the elitist sport, Croquet, with his white friends. Stepin Fetchit said this about his on screen relationship with superstar Will Rogers: “When people saw me and Will Rogers like brothers, that said something to them.”

The only character that shows any animosity to black people is Judge Priest’s antagonist, Senator Maydew. Senator Maydew, when arguing for the conviction of Jeff Poindexter, says Jeff is a “confirmed Chicken thief” who has “no place in this God-fearing community.”

There are several racial contradictions that play out in Judge Priest. For instance, although Judge Priest symbolizes the tolerant southerner he has one of the most racially horrific lines in film. When Jeff asks the Judge if he can play the popular Union song Marching Through Georgia, Judge Priest tells Jeff, “I got you outta one lynching, if I catch you playing Marching Through Georgia I’ll join the lynchers.” This line makes light of a very serious subject. Lynching was very much alive in the 1930s when Judge Priest was produced.

The blacks in Judge Priest celebrated the Confederacy with the whites. The blacks happily joined with the whites during the Confederate Veterans parade. Additionally, when Reverend Brand recounts his glory days with the Confederate Army, it was the black male populace outside creating the epic music to emotionalize Reverend Brand’s story. The blacks celebrate the proslavery Confederates right alongside the whites.