February 9, 2017
National Museum of the American Indian
4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW
Metro: L’Enfant Plaza, Maryland Avenue/Smithsonian Museums
As early Americans sought to define their identity in a new country, race became a major fixation. Tarzan and Jane, Tonto and the Lone Ranger, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima—these and other stereotypes about Native American, African, and African American people have long been part of the American scene. Join us for a lively evening as noted scholars, writers, and critics discuss the ongoing presence of such stereotypes and the barriers these stereotypes pose to the advancement of American culture.
Gaurav Desai, professor of English Language and Literature, University of Michigan; Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation), assistant professor, American Studies and Ethnic Studies, Brown University; Imani Perry, Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University; and Jesse Wente (Ojibwe), leading film critic and programmer for indigenous cinema, will present various perspectives on the topic. Tiya Miles, Mary Henrietta Graham Distinguished University Professor of African American Women’s History, professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, professor of American Culture, professor of History, and professor of Women’s Studies, University of Michigan, will serve as the evening’s moderator.
A reception in the museum’s Potomac Atrium follows the symposium.
Learn more at the Tarzan to Tonto page.
From Tarzan to Tonto, cosponsored by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, National Museum of the American Indian, and National Museum of African American History and Culture, is generously supported by Accenture.
Free and open to the public