Judge — February 24, 1900 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a racist comic strip from Judge magazine (circa 1900) depicting a domestic dispute between two Black characters using exaggerated dialect and caricature. The sequence shows a woman (labeled "Mrs. Wittre") challenging her husband to strike her, progressively escalating her taunts ("slap me," "harder," "on the face"). The husband ultimately leaves her ("dis is whar yo' an' me parts"). The satire appears to mock Black domestic relationships through cruel stereotypes—presenting African American couples as prone to violence and crude behavior. The humor relied on audiences' racist assumptions about Black people. The title "AND SHE NEVER MOVED" suggests the wife's defiance. This represents the deeply racist content common in late-19th/early-20th century American popular media, reflecting contemporary prejudices that today would be recognized as offensive caricature and dehumanization.