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Walker reappropriates the cut-paper silhouettes crafted by proper ladies in the nineteenth century to create strange tableaux from antebellum romance novels and slave narratives. They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted is actually one of her less disturbing works, which can feature images of rape, murder, and torture. Although she has received many letters protesting her use of images conveying negative African American stereotypes, Walker responds that their controversial nature is the very thing that makes them worthy of discussion.
American silhouette antebellum