Browsing the Past: When Antique Shopping Encounters Racism

Laura Marti – March 20, 2025

Visiting antique stores has become a favorite outing for our family whenever we’re on vacation. Wherever we go, we track down the local antique shops. We look for used books, music albums, VHS movies, comic books, vintage clothing, kitchen items and dinnerware, tea sets, hand-crocheted afghans, and old wood furniture pieces—always hoping to discover a hidden gem from the past. Sometimes we only browse and appreciate; other times we find a truly unique or special item that we just have to buy.

Encountering Racist Objects

Over the past several years, my personal antiracism journey has converged with our antique store hopping. As I’ve learned more about race and racism to better understand our racial history, I’ve developed a heightened awareness of how Black people have been negatively portrayed in our culture. Unsurprisingly, I began to see these portrayals in the antique stores. I now noticed the racist stereotypes, tropes, and caricatures that have persisted through the decades. Items such as dolls, cookie jars, posters, paintings, salt and pepper shakers, and figurines often reflect blatant racism. It doesn’t matter where I am across the United States—North Carolina, Ohio, New Hampshire, Florida, Arkansas, California—they are pervasive. They seem to be in every shop.

The juxtapostion with the white figures behind is interesting

Found on a recent trip in an antique store in northern Ohio

Most of the time, I stand in front of the item for a while, taking in what I’m seeing. I’ve learned from listening to Black voices that it’s important for me to pause and “sit with the discomfort” when I encounter something racist like one of these artifacts. I look at the tags to see if there’s any contextual information—what year it was made, where it came from, any historical background to give it context. I sometimes ask the shop owners if they know anything more about the piece, though the answer is usually no.

I give myself space to feel. They evoke in me a range of emotions that I don’t always know how to process. These items are disturbing and uncomfortable, and I often feel a mix of disgust, sadness, anger, and regret—dismay that such hateful attitudes ever existed (and still do), and reckoning that they were so normalized they could be mass-produced. Sometimes I even feel the urge to “rescue” the item so that no Black person has to experience the pain of seeing it on display.

The demeaning nature of exaggerated features are evident in this racist cookie jar

Though many of these items are clearly demeaning caricatures, some are more ambiguous. I’ve occasionally seen paintings or dolls that don’t include exaggerated features. When I come across these, I sometimes hold onto the hope that a little girl once played with that doll—a doll who looked like her and it gave her joy. I wonder if she saw herself reflected in it with pride. And sometimes, I encounter pieces of art that genuinely strike me as beautiful, crafted with care and skill. These moments feel different, and I allow myself to wrestle the complexity of that.

Gaining Perspective from Experts

Encountering these stereotyped Black figures in antique shops can be deeply unsettling. Experts like Dr. David Pilgrim, founder of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia (located at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI) and Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. have written and spoken extensively on the topic. Both emphasize that these artifacts, while painful, can be valuable tools for education and truth-telling. In fact, Dr. Pilgrim has spent decades collecting these very items—not to celebrate them, but to confront them. His museum uses racist memorabilia to teach tolerance and spark conversation about the long legacy of racism in American culture. His overarching goal is the promotion of racial understanding and the improvement of racial relations.

While the museum’s displays mostly come from the Jim Crow era, museum officials emphasize that negative caricatures of Black people did not end with that period. A large display features racist objects produced in the 21st century, demonstrating the ways in which Jim Crow-era attitudes and behavior persist.

Dr. Pilgrim’s story was told in this 2016 article titled “Using Racist Memorabilia to Teach Tolerance.” He calls these objects what they are—racist memorabilia—and points to their power in helping us understand how dehumanization was built into everyday American life. These are not just relics; they are visual documentation of how racism was embedded in entertainment, marketing, and domestic life.

“I tell everyone to do their own thinking,” said Dr. Pilgrim, of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. “But, you know, I wish more people – in respectful, civil ways – would challenge not just the presence of these pieces but what the pieces represent, and ask the question of their neighbors: Why?”

As Henry Louis Gates Jr. explains, “We need to study these images in order to deflect the harm that they continue to inflict upon African Americans, at the deepest levels of the American unconscious.” In this PBS article he wrote for The Root, he discusses whether Black people should collect racist memorabilia. These thoughts from Dr. Gates particularly stood out to me as he described the images of Black people that were developing after the end of slavery, as the perceptions of formerly enslaved Africans were developing:

“The fears and anxieties of black people from within the white collective unconscious were projected onto a plethora of quotidian, everyday, ordinary consumer objects. So popular were they with the public, so widespread was their consumption, that virtually anywhere a white person saw an image of an African American, they saw one of these stereotypes. It didn’t matter what the individual black man or woman said and did, because negative images of them in the popular imagination already existed, as if they were ‘always in place.’”

An Opportunity to Witness, Reflect, and Grow

Today these objects sit in public spaces often stripped of historical context. Without thoughtful framing of their origins, they perpetuate harm. They can be casually overlooked by some, while cutting deeply into others. For this reason, the question remains: should these items be “rescued” from circulation? Should they be purchased or just removed from view?

There isn’t one clear answer. Some argue that collecting and preserving these pieces for education and museum contexts—where they can be examined and discussed—is a way to honor truths of the past and learn from it. Others believe these items should be taken off shelves altogether, especially in spaces where they are commodified. Wherever we land, one thing is certain: they should not be ignored.

My love for antique shops became a learning opportunity, and a chance to thoughtfully reflect on the negative stereotypes and often violent ways in which Black people have been caricatured. In a climate where there is an aggressive push to hide all evidence of our racist history, all you have to do is walk into an antique shop to see that past (and present) on full display.

In my travels over the last decade, I did decide to purchase two items after a lot of contemplation. One is a small doll that appears to be handmade. It’s one I keep to remind me how important representation is—for Black children to see themselves reflected in the objects and toys that bring them joy. My hope is that perhaps the doll’s history is one of joy. The second is a set of three figures, small statuettes of African women that I found to be beautiful. They don’t appear to me to be from the Jim Crow era and have only one slightly exaggerated feature. Maybe they were a rescue, but I see in them as an artistic celebration of culture. I display them to remind me, and others in my home, of the beauty and dignity of the African Diaspora.

For those of us on a journey toward racial healing, these moments in antique stores offer an unexpected opportunity—to witness, to reflect, and to grow. Whether we pause to sit with the discomfort, engage in conversation, or advocate for more responsible handling of these artifacts, we are participating in the ongoing work of reckoning with our past.

Here are some recommended actions when encountering racist memorabilia:

Reflect Before Reacting: Consider the intent behind the display. Is the item presented as a historical artifact or as a collectible without context? Understanding the purpose can guide your response.
Engage in Dialogue: If you feel comfortable, initiate a respectful conversation with the shop owner or staff. Share your perspective on why such items can be harmful when displayed without context.
Educate Others: Use the encounter as an opportunity to inform family, friends or community members about the history and impact of racist imagery. Raising awareness can lead to broader discussions about representation and history.
Support Educational Institutions: Consider donating such items to museums like the Jim Crow Museum, where they can be used for educational purposes within a proper context.
Advocate for Responsible Display: Encourage antique shops and collectors to provide historical context when displaying such items, transforming them from offensive objects into educational tools.