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The first entertainment craze in US history
Prelude to Jazz:
Minstrelsy
Old word; new meaning
18th century American version of a “variety act;” entertainment consisting of various unrelated skits, dances, scenes, and musical selections.
The first minstrel troops were white traveling musicians who performed in blackface
A show usually had 3 unrelated acts
Most popular during mid-1800s, but continued until 1950s-60s
What is a Minstrel Show?
America’s Entertainment Craze
Began in 1830s and 40sMost popular form of
entertainment for almost 80 years (Burns)
The beginning of the American songbook: O Susanna, Camp town Races, Dixie, etc.
Stephen Foster wrote many songs for Christy Minstrels (Broadway)
America’s Musical Racism
[Blackface performers are]…the filthy scum of white society, who have stolen from us a complexion denied them by nature in which to make money, and pander to the corrupt taste of their white fellow citizens.” – Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
Stock Characters of Minstrelsy
Jim CrowThe first big minstrel
hit was written down and performed by a white man know as Daddy Rice
He said he named the tune after the black stable hand he saw perform it
“The 2 most popular characters in the world at the present are Queen Victoria and Jim Crow.” – Boston Post, late 1830s
Minstrelsy presented slaves as thankful, happy, and eager to return to their masters
Minstrelsy taught white America that blacks were not to be pitied and existed for their entertainment
The Zip Coon stock character taught whites that blacks could not educate or better themselves, and could never be like whites
Minstrelsy as fuel for discrimination
Minstrelsy Stereotypes1. Jim Crow
Happy-go-lucky slave, eager to entertain
2. Tambo Joyous Musician, often
with a tambourine, ignorant and poorly-spoken
3. Zip CoonA free black attempting
to rise above his station, but without the intelligence to do so
1. MammyMotherly, devoted,
and loving, with a no-nonsense outlook on life; often played by men in drag
2. Ol’ WenchSexually
promiscuous, often light-skinned and played by a teenage boy in drag
Can Music Effect Our Behavior?
Segregation laws in the
southern US came to be
called “Jim Crow” laws.
US Supreme Court
ruling Plessy v.
Ferguson (1896) stated
separate but equal laws
were legal
Jim Crow laws did not
fully disappear until
1965
The Black and
White Minstrel
Show was a big
hit on the BBC
and ran from
1958-1978
Once cancelled,
regional UK tours
continued until
1987 at resorts
theatres and
festivals
Exporting American Hatred and Racism
1. Some say that minstrelsy is still a part of the US entertainment culture, but without the blatant racism and blackface. In other words, some say that although most American’s happily consume black culture as entertainment, (exp. Rap, Jazz, Blues, R & B) most do not have the same level of comfort with black people. Do you agree?
2. Minstrelsy propagated vicious stereotypes of blacks that lasted well into the 20th century (refer to slide #9). Do you feel the media (and Hollywood) still perpetuates these stereotypes?
Small Group Discussion
GQ Interview (2013)
On blacks during Jim Crow era:“…They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’ – not a word!...Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”
Clashing GenerationsPhil Robertson
Ol’ Aunt JemimaTaken from a 1875
minstrel hit called “Old Aunt Jemima” by Billy Kersands
Originally played by a white man in drag
Used the slogan, “I’s in town, honey!” (1893)
Her image was redone in 1989 to reduce racial stereotypes and references to the Mammy minstrel character
From Mammy to Auntie