History Main / MagicalNegro

* Ogion the Silent becomes this in ''Series/{{Earthsea}}'', Scifi Channel's version of Ursula K. Le Guin's ''Literature/AWizardOfEarthsea''. Go [[http://www.ursulakleguin.com/Index-EarthseaMiniseries.html here]], [[http://www.infinitematrix.net/faq/essays/noles.html here]] and [[http://andweshallmarch.typepad.com/and_we_shall_march/2006/01/the_shame_of_ea.html here]] for a detailed analysis of the racial miscasting in ''Earthsea''.

* An elderly Jamaican woman (no name given) in ''Film/MeetJoeBlack'' who is the only person who can see who "Joe" is (Death), and later gives him sage advice on his situation. [[/folder]]

* ''ComicBook/WhatIf ... ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Fought In [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar The Civil War]]?'' reduces ComicBook/TheFalcon to a cross between a MagicalNegro and a MagicalNativeAmerican (in this version he was raised by the Shawnee tribe and became a shaman). He gives Steve Rogers a [[WhoopiEpiphanySpeech speech about seeing the similarities in people]], uses his [[ReligionIsMagic mystic abilities]] to give Steve superpowers, and then gets killed.

* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', the black voodoo lady Tia Dalma seemed to be a MagicalNegro. However, the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd third film]] revealed [[spoiler:Tia Dalma to actually be the sea goddess Calypso]] who is searching for a way to [[spoiler:be freed from her mortal body]], and she's [[ChaoticNeutral not necessarily on ]]''[[ChaoticNeutral anyone]]''[[ChaoticNeutral 's side but her own.]]

%%* ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' kicked off with a MagicalNegro version of Teiresias from Homer's ''Odyssey''. A bit of a parody.

** King's fondness for the MagicalNegro trope was discussed in an episode of ''Series/KeyAndPeele'', with the comedians eventually wondering aloud if Maine (where King grew up) is full of psychic black people.

* Parodied in a series of ''Series/TheManShow'' sketches. A hapless white guy is presented with an opportunity to cheat on his wife, and as he agonizes over the decision, a self-identified MagicalNegro appears to him, sings a song about "Listening to your penis's heart," and helps him find a way to rationalize the infidelity.
* The premise of ''Series/NewAmsterdam'' is that a MightyWhitey saves the life of a MagicalNativeAmerican and in return they use their magic to make him immortal. Naturally, it never occurs to them to make the members of their own tribe immortal, perhaps because the immortal magic only works on superior white genes. However, they only made him immortal until he found his true happiness (BlessedWithSuck?), at which point he'd become mortal again. Since they're not around anymore, the implication is that they were already quite happy the way they were, making it less MagicalNegro and more NobleSavage (recovering MagicalNativeAmerican).

* Played in the first season of ''Series/TrueBlood'' were Tara's mother; [[AbusiveParents an abusive alcoholic highly religious woman]], becomes a "normal person" after an [[MagicalNegro afro-american voodoo lady who lives in the middle of the forest]] exorcises the "demon" she had inside. [[spoiler: Subverted: she is just a normal person who works on a drug store. She uses the voodoo thing to maintain her children, so the exorcism wasn't real (...Or was it?)]]

** The sting in the tail comes when a middle-aged black woman enters and the white man mistakes her for yet ''another'' MagicalNegro, to which she replies, "Who you calling a [[NWordPrivileges negro,]] bitch?"

Bonus points if this character is a priest of Vodoun. If they are, it's generally a sign that you're watching a particularly bad horror film, such as the ''Film/FinalDestination'' series. If female, they will nearly always also be a SassyBlackWoman.

* In ''VideoGame/Balan Wonderworld, the main character is dark-skinned magical trickster with locked hair who comes to the blonde, blue-eyed, self insert protagonists to guide them in their time of great need.

* Parodied and {{subverted}} on ''Series/ChappellesShow''. In one sketch, Dave helps a young white woman appreciate her special gifts by showing her how they are responsible for her having a career and friends... and the only thing averting a nuclear holocaust. The subversion comes in when Dave reveals he's no angel, just a janitor.

[[/folder]]

--->'''Elroy:''' My name is Elroy Patashnik, and from 2006-2009, I was addicted to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAIJD5OA4y0 encouraging white people]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Zecora fits the bill in a way. She is the only Zebra in a world of ponies and other mythical creatures with a whole episode about not judging someone because they're different. Plus, Zebras are from Africa. And her voice actress is black. Lampshaded since she's not a unicorn with inborn magic, but rather a shaman/witch doctor with access to magic the unicorns do not have. She also happens to live in a hut ... in the forest ... with a cauldron ... and tribal masks. Her help does have its limits though, as in "Swarm of the Century" she's able to identify the Parasprite but tells Twilight "[[DoomyDoomsOfDoom You're doomed!]]", and one one occasion ''she'' had to be saved from a fatal disease by Fluttershy, by using the research of an ancient hero of Equestria who specialized in the same kinds of potions and cures Zecora normally deals in. According to WordOfGod, she was even moreso this in [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the original pitch for the series]] as Creator/LaurenFaust originally pictured her as a mentor and sage who the ponies would go to for information on their quests -- while that was ultimately dropped and she was retooled into a misjudged loner, and her helpful knowledge of unfamilar aspects was[[TheArtifact a leftover of her original characterization]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Zecora fits the bill in a way. She is the only Zebra in a world of ponies and other mythical creatures with a whole episode about not judging someone because they're different. Plus, Zebras are from Africa. And her voice actress is black. Lampshaded since she's not a unicorn with inborn magic, but rather a shaman/witch doctor with access to magic the unicorns do not have. She also happens to live in a hut ... in the forest ... with a cauldron ... and tribal masks...
** Her help does have limits. In "Swarm of the Century" she's able to identify the Parasprite but tells Twilight "[[DoomyDoomsOfDoom You're doomed!]]".

* Yinsen from ComicBook/IronMan's origin, who exists only to be very wise and honorable and then die so Iron Man [[StuffedInTheFridge can get motivated to kick evil ass]], is an Asian version of this. (He has since been retconned to Afghan rather than East Asian, and was played by Shuan Toub in the [[Film/IronMan1 2008 film]], but still kept the Asian name.)

* Larry Wilmore, "Senior Black Correspondent" on ''Series/TheDailyShow'', explicitly referenced the trope one episode. A disbelieving Jon Stewart repeated, "Magical...?" "Negro. It's okay, you can say it." "Magical... I'm sorry, I'm a little uncomfortable--" "Good. That was a test."

* Neatly subverted by Shepherd Book in ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. He may be Serenity's resident mentor and act as TheConscience for the white crew members, but he's not the holy man he appears to be -- [[spoiler:he's the man who killed him.]]
** ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', however, is sometimes accused of reducing Book to this role. On the other hand, the scene in which he refuses to tell Mal about his background can be taken as a subversion -- the classic Magical Negro would have happily told his life story and used it as a metaphor to help the white hero figure himself out.

* Uncle Remus from ''Film/SongOfTheSouth'' epitomizes this trope, a key reason why the movie isn't seen much today. Even the horrors of Jim Crow can't dampen his determination to be a cheerful mentor for the children.

* ''Film/TheFamilyMan'': Cash is the black man who sends Jack to a WhatIf universe to show him what his life might have been if he had taken different choices. It's never stated, though implied, that he's a Jack's guardian angel.

* ''Film/TheLegendOfBaggerVance'': Bagger Vance; notably, the film is very loosely based on the ''Bhagavad Gita'', with Vance in the role of Krishna, so it's implied that Bagger Vance is actually ''{{God}}''. Admittedly, this is a fairly appropriate translation of the original story. The easiest way to get [[ValuesDissonance Western audiences]] to understand the extreme social distance between the prince Arjuna and his charioteer is to portray "R. Junnah" as white and "Bagger Vance" as black in the Jim Crow South. Still, that very location begs the question of whether it was a good idea to write a black character seemingly unaffected by the racism of the period and only interested in helping out white people.

* Lamont in ''Film/AmericanHistoryX''.
* Harry Mitchell in ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau'', the Adjuster who decides to help David.
* How about the Bogo-Matassalai from ''Film/ArthurAndTheInvisibles''?
* Gloria in '' Literature/BecauseOfWinnDixie'' is a [[TwoferTokenMinority fourfer:]] [[InspirationallyDisadvantaged blind]], black, female, and a dry alcoholic.

* ''[[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0316465/ Radio,]]'' the 2003 film. Despite being [[BasedOnATrueStory based on the true story]] of James Robert "Radio" Kennedy.

* ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' kicked off with a MagicalNegro version of Teiresias from Homer's ''Odyssey''. A bit of a parody.

* Djimon Hounsou also seems to be playing this sort of role A LOT since his role as Maximus' friend in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''.
** He plays a textbook example in the film adaptation of ''Literature/SameKindOfDifferentAsMe.''
** Inverted in his portrayal of Caliban in Julie Taymor's ''Film/TheTempest2010''. He might be magical, being the son of a witch (and possibly a demon) but he sure isn't there to help any of the other characters.

* The handicapped (black) golf instructor/mentor Chubbs Peterson, whose hand got eaten by a crocodile in ''Film/HappyGilmore''.
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Man Holy Man]]'' starring Creator/EddieMurphy.
* Shaquille O'Neal in ''Film/{{Kazaam}}'', with plenty of UnfortunateImplications.

* Solomon from ''Film/HandThatRocksTheCradle'' is an example of this character type as well.

* In ''Film/ThePunisher2004'', Candelaria the local Witch Doctor is a textbook example.

* Basquiat - biographical drama film based on the life of American postmodernist/neo expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

* Bradley, Henry's physical rehabilitation therapist in ''Regarding Henry ''.

* ''Film/TheGreenMile'' has a character played by the late Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan who is simultaneously a MagicalNegro and TheRainman.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* In the story "Franchise/{{Batman}} R.I.P.", Bruce Wayne is found lost on the street with no memory of who he is, when he comes across a black homeless man named Honor Jackson. Honor helps Bruce start his path to recovery, but then disappears and is revealed to have already been dead. However, while it looks like this trope at first, it's actually a subversion - it's eventually revealed that Honor is looking for his own personal redemption, saying that he'd never done anything he could be proud of, but was now happy to save one man's life.
** In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance, Honor Jackson gets a page in the first issue of Morrison's Batman run. Batman gives him a few bucks when the Batmobile is stopped nearby, noting to Robin that there's always time to help people. Honor apparently uses this money to drink himself to death. Arguably the Honor that Bruce met later during Batman R.I.P. was never anything more than a fragment of Bruce's psyche, which raises a few questions about Bruce.

[[folder:Film]]

--->'''Jeff''': Oh jeez, I'm sorry. I was raised on TV, and I was conditioned to believe that every black woman over 50 is a cosmic mentor.

-->''He stands for the people, they're hopin' and dreamin',\\

[[folder: Music]]
* In the music video to country singer Chris Young's "The Man I Want to Be," we are introduced to an older black man in a suit sitting on a bench outside of bus depot. Chris Young takes a seat, and is first offered food, but denies the offer in favor of spiritual advice. The older black man chuckles as he hands Chris Young a magical quarter that will allow him to make a phone call to God.

[[folder:Theater]]
* Played oddly straight by the black playwright August Wilson, many of whose ''Century Cycle'' plays include characters of this nature as parts of all-or-nearly-all-black casts (Stool Pigeon in ''King Hedley II'', Elder Barlow in ''Radio Golf'', Aunt Ester in ''Gem of the Ocean'' and offstage in other plays).
* Papa, the old steam engine from ''Theatre/StarlightExpress'', although he at least takes part in one race (and wins). In the original London cast, Rusty, the young steam engine under his tutelage, was also black, but later productions cast white actors as Rusty. Electra, the bisexual electric engine, is usually cast as black, but he is definitely not magical.

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Comic]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://sinfest.net/view.php?date=2007-11-12 Slick knows to consult one.]]

* ''WebAnimation/HowToKillAMockingbird'' jokingly portrays Calpurnia this way.

-->Clambake pretty much exudes that vibe, associated with nice old black men in too many movies and books to count, of “Here’s a nice old black man who’s going to help you white people solve your problems with his folk wisdom/instinctive understanding of human nature/magical powers, but isn’t going to do anything to make you uncomfortable, like have sex with white women or vote or speak in that damn ‘izzle’ language.”
* Subverted in ''WebVideo/GemmaAndTheBear''. Bear states that his goal in life is to help Gemma, yet he is such a bumbling oaf with plenty of his own problems that he tends to only make things worse. She just wants him to ''go away''. Also inverted in that Bear and Gemma are actually [[JekyllAndHyde aspects of the same person]].
* ''WebVideo/ATrailerForEveryAcademyAwardWinningMovieEver'' features "friendly, black, optimistic advice".

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Subverted by Chef of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', whose advice usually amounts to him singing passionate soul songs about sex. That, or imparting information an 8-year-old really shouldn't know.
--->'''Stan''': "Chef, how can I get a girl to like me?"\\
'''Chef''': "Oh, that's easy! You just have to find the clitoris."

--->'''Chef''': "Hello there, children!"\\
'''Stan''': "Hey, Chef! What would a priest wanna stick up my butt?"\\
'''Chef''': "...G'bye!"
** Despite this, he still plays this somewhat straight by virtue of having been the OnlySaneMan and the one consistent adult the children can go when things go strange [[spoiler: at least until his death that is.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', Star wanders off into hiding after accidentally destroying a police car. A kind black lady with quite an obsession with hair comes to give her food and shelter for a short amount of time, and later [[spoiler: uses a tin-can telephone to tell authorities where they can find Star]].

* The sketch comedy series ''[[Series/KeyAndPeele Key & Peele]]'' has two such magical African-Americans fighting to the [[spoiler: mutual]] death over who would get to enlighten a success-weary white man.

* In ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', Dennis Rogers is a Liberia native whose an outsider to the Island. He becomes a Tattoo Warrior and fights with the Rebels. He even works his way up to being the second-command of the leader Citra. However, instead of becoming the hero and leading the Rebels to victory against the Pirates, he waits until the game's Protagonist [[MightyWhitey Jason Brody]] shows up and decides to guide him in becoming the hero of the Island.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images//magical_negro_0.jpg]]]]

* Political satirist Paul Shanklin made a song called "Barack the Magic Negro." The song was, naturally, [[EverythingIsRacist called racist]]. However, it was [[ComicallyMissingThePoint really poking fun at the media]] for helping to create Obama's image, which can be called reminiscent of this trope.

-->'''Bones:''' What happened?
-->'''Zack:''' Apparently all Angela needed was to hear her job description in a deep, African-American tone.

* Although the entire film takes place in Africa, only one character in ''Disney/TheLionKing'' is presented as African: the mystical baboon Rafiki.

* ''[[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0316465/ Radio]]'', the 2003 film. Despite being [[BasedOnATrueStory based on the true story]] of James Robert "Radio" Kennedy.

* %%''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Rue.