Minstrel Shows

Callie Powell

Due to white, European dominance in the early American political, economic, and social landscape, African Americans lacked access to the early entertainment industry. One particular form of theatre, minstrel shows, ironically became the work that served as one of the limited avenues into the entertainment industry available to black Americans in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Minstrel shows at their conception and the for many years later, into their height in the 1870s to the 1890s, were predominantly performed by white entertainers. Performers donned blackface and performed songs and dances using forms of expressions influenced by negative stereotypes of African Americans for comedic purposes. Minstrel shows at one time were the most popular forms of entertainment in the United States. Newspapers advertised minstrel shows as fun fun-filled spectacles, often held at performance centers and city halls. Songwriter Stephen Foster, regarded as the “father of American music” is most well-known for his minstrel music. Well-known tunes such as “Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races” were written for minstrel performances (Emerson). Foster’s minstrel song “Old Folks at Home” also known as “Swanee River” became the state song of Florida in 1935. It wasn’t until 2008 that an official revision of the original’s lyrics was created in place of Foster’s version for its suggestive lyrics. The line “Still longing for de old plantation” was changed to “Still longing for my childhood station” (“State Song”).

Scenes and illustrations of minstrel shows is present in American author Mark Twain’s novel Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain spoke of his enjoyment and appreciation of minstrel shows in his autobiography. Twain explained performances mostly consisted of three individuals, two of whom representing slaves in rags, and one dressing and speaking in a manner for akin to higher social status. The two slave caricatures would each play the African originating instruments the banjo and bones, synonymously being named each “Banjo” and “Bones.” Minstrel shows were not supported by white church-goers; Twain clarifies the deterrence was not blatant racism, but rather its vulgarity (Shedd). The popularity and prevalence of the minstrel shows and their characters were the most prominent representations of black Americans to white Americans. Behaviors of the caricatures became characteristics expected from black men, particularly for black male entertainers. Actor and trumpeter Louis Armstrong grew up in the time when conforming to these stereotypes was almost necessary. Armstrong would perform similar comedic acts and was well-known for his expressive eyes and grins (Stockwell).

Minstrel shows even after losing popularity had influence on the entertainment industry. Some African American entertainers criticized others like Louis Armstrong as an ‘Uncle Tom’: a black man who willfully plays into stereotypes to appease the white people surrounding them (Dinerstein). Later into the 19th century, African American musicians began critiquing figures like Armstrong as traitorous and sell-outs. Trumpeter Miles Davis once said “I always hated the way they [Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie] used to laugh and grin to the audiences. I know why they did it — to make money and because they were entertainers as well as trumpet players. They had families to feed. Plus they both liked acting the clown; it’s just the way Dizzy and Satch were. I don’t have nothing against them doing it if they want to. But I didn’t like it and didn’t have to like it” (Stockwell). One African American ruan newspaper in Trenton, New Jersey reported in 1881. “And now we are to have another colored minstrel show at the Opera House next week. It is a pity that the colored people cannot find something better in which to employ their talents. If the play-going public would occasionally allow these troupes to play empty benches, when they come here, instead of giving them full houses, it would go a long way toward ridding us of the nuisance” (The Sentinel).

Minstrels faded out of popularity and off the stage almost entirely later on in the 19th century. Blackface and recreations of minstrel showed up in film in the 1920s and 1930s, and even had an appearance at the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, New York. The World’s Fair was once regarded as a place of progress and innovation, whereas this year was considered a disgrace. The president of the fair Robert Moses, also known as the “master-builder” of New York City was forced to implement a policy of equal employment after the World’s Fair Corporation was accused of racially discriminating in hiring their workers. Moses also had a hand in displacing poor, black and Hispanic New Yorkers. The purpose of the minstrel show was to keep with the well-received fun and entertainment of past performances but with an integrated cast of white and black performers. The performance was heavily protested and lasted for only two performances; this event happened not even eight months after the Birmingham church bombing in Alabama that killed four black girls (Gan).

Works Cited

Ken Emerson, editor. “The Lyrics And Legacy Of Stephen Foster.” NPR, 16 Apr. 2010, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126035325.

“State Song.” Florida Department of State, Florida Department of State, dos.myflorida.com/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-song/.

Shedd, Matt. “Mark Twain’s Account of Minstrelsy.” A MISSING AMERICA, Blogger, 25 Oct. 2010, amissingamerica.blogspot.com/2010/10/mark-twains-account-of-minstrelsy.html.

Stockwell, Shannon. “Cool versus Fool-Criticisms of Louis Armstrong.” Inside A. C. T., Blogger, 16 Mar. 2017, blog.act-sf.org/2015/12/cool-versus-foolcriticisms-of-louis.html.

Dinerstein, Joel. “”Uncle Tom is Dead!”: Wright, Himes, and Ellison Lay a Mask to Rest.” African American Review, vol. 43 no. 1, 2009, pp. 83–98. Project MUSE, muse.jhu.edu/article/388637.

The Sentinel, vol. 1 no. 48, 2 Apr. 1881, p. 3, Readex,

https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy195.nclive.org/apps/readex/doc.

Gan, Vicky. “The Story Behind the Failed Minstrel Show at the 1964 World’s Fair.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 28 Apr. 2014, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/minstrel-show-1964-worlds-fair-180951239/.