Dr. Katya Ermolaeva
Nov 1 · 1 min read

Indeed — my main argument is that the whitewashing of these songs needs to stop and that the true histories of these songs need to be brought to light. The best place to do that, however, is not in the pre-K or elementary music classroom but in high school or university-level music history courses, where the tradition of minstrelsy and its role in American history can be explored in depth. The Jim Crow Museum of Ferris State University (Grand Rapids, Michigan) is also an excellent model of how to appropriately engage with this material, and they have excellent educational resources on blackface minstrelsy. And I object to minstrel songs because of their deeply disturbing function in American history; I have nothing against the banjo. But I do find it very offensive that generations of white entertainers ridiculed and caricatured real African American banjo players through blackface minstrelsy.

    Dr. Katya Ermolaeva

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    Musicologist, music editor, music educator & musicological consultant. | Russian & Soviet Music | American Children’s Music