Dumbo (Crow Scene)

((The crow characters in the film are in fact African-American caricatures; the leader crow voiced by Caucasian Cliff Edwards is officially named "Jim Crow". The other crows are all voiced by African-American actors, all members of the Hall Johnson Choir. Though Dumbo is often criticized for the inclusion of the black crows, it is notable that they are the only truly sympathetic characters in the film outside of Dumbo, his mother and Timothy. They apologize for picking on the elephant, and they are in fact the ones that help Timothy teach Dumbo to fly. The roustabout scene which features African American laborers largely in shadow and singing a working song that many find offensive has drawn similar complaints.))

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org

When I was young, I remember watching Dumbo in class. I enjoyed the movie up until the crow scene. Given that I was the only black kid in the class, I was the only one that did double takes. Boy those crows sure sound like slaves, I thought. I never knew there was so much controversy about these crows, until I got older.

http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/links/reversal.htm

Here’s a great article on supporting the positive notion of the crow scene. Now, I don’t fully agree with it, but it is an interesting take on the Crow scene.