HW: Grammar of Graphics

1

Major: W.E.B. Du Bois and the 1900 Paris Exposition

Figure 1: The Georgia Negro (Forrest, ‘W. E. B. Du Bois’ staggering data visualizations are as powerful today as they were in 1900 (Part 1),’ 2018)

The American Negros in Paris is a social study in the typical Southern states,

reflecting the rise of the community through the slave trade. The data visualization presents

the increased Negron population as a challenge to the foreign land. The introductory analysis

of the slave trade routes and the population growth trends has a light history, presenting the

conditions in the United States favorable for African Americans. Generally, the graphical

2

presentation reveals the general development of the American Negron community in Georgia,

US.

Context

Data visualization has powerful examples of historical features of the Negron problem

in the United States. The audience of the visual is the United States population. The visual

expresses the relative dominance of Georgia and its attraction to more African Americans

than other states (Forrest, ‘W. E. B. Du Bois’ staggering data visualizations are as powerful

today as they were in 1900 (Part 1),’ 2018). The purpose and the exploration of the graph are

to reveal the overpopulation problem of the Negron community in one state. The

visualization initiates thoughts on the effects of Negron’s overpopulation in Georgia amid

increased discrimination and injustices to the people of color. The measurement scale used in

the data is the population of Negron immigrants into Georgia and some parts of South

American against the overall population of the community in other parts of the nation (Bois

& Burghardt, 1900). The primary source of the data visualization is the statistics from the

slave trade from African countries, a Color-line problem of Georgia.

Perception

The visualization shows the routes of slaves from Africa and their destination points

in north and South America. The pre-attentive attributes used to represent data include color,

angle, and position. The color is a symbol of the populations involved in the slave trade. The

route angle relates to Negron’s position and shows the precise route and destination of the

slaves from Africa. The destination of the slaves has different sizes compared to the source.

The pre-attentive attribute reveals a rapid increase in Negron’s and their high population

density at the destination. The high population density is an ultimate social problem and

evidence for cultural change in the present U.S. (Forrest, ‘Data journalism in the study of

3

W.E.B. Du Bois’ “The Negro Problem” (Part 2),’ 2018). The representation of different

destinations compared with the routes is different for North and South America. Many routes

lead to North America, resulting in Negron communities with high population density. The

relationships in the visualization are comprehensive of the possible problems to a state with

high slave population density.

Interpretation

The graphic has a good presentation of the maps of the three continents that serve in

the slave trade. The representation represents the development of the Negron community in

one state in the U.S. It views it as a significant problem for an area to be densely populated

by one community. However, the graphical representation does not have a key to represent

the numbers of people involved in the slave trade as statistical evidence to prove the

development of the problem in Georgia. The pattern represents the relationships between two

distinct parts of the world. Lastly, the colors of the graphic create a feeling of Africans who

suffered in the slave trade.

Comprehending

The graphic has diverse meanings, starting with the route that connects West Africa to

North America. The connection reveals why the present United States has a high population

of African Americans (Forrest, ‘W. E. B. Du Bois’ staggering data visualizations are as

powerful today as they were in 1900 (Part 1),’ 2018). The graphical presentation’s central

message is the dominance of Africans in some parts of South Americans. Additionally, it also

provides the connection to Africans living in an environment similar to the tropical regions of

Africa. I have learned different methods of statistical representation using visual elements to

provide a comprehensive understanding of crucial social, cultural, or demographic features.

4

Overall, the graphic presents a map connecting the history of the slave trade and the high

numbers of African Americans in Western society.

5

References

Bois, D., & Burghardt, W. E. (1900). Du Bois Collection of visual materials about African

Americans assembled for the Paris Exposition of 1900. Retrieved from Library of

Congress: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005682657/

Forrest, J. (2018, July 31). Data journalism in the study of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “The Negro

Problem” (Part 2). Retrieved from Medium: https://medium.com/nightingale/data-

journalism-in-the-study-of-w-e-b-du-bois-the-negro-problem-part-2-of-4-

e5ea9b976adc

Forrest, J. (2018, July 19). W. E. B. Du Bois’ staggering data visualizations are as powerful

today as they were in 1900 (Part 1). Retrieved from Medium: https://medium.com/

nightingale/w-e-b-du-bois-staggering-data-visualizations-are-as-powerful-today-as-

they-were-in-1900-64752c472ae4