Minstrelsy is a form of entertainment, popular from the 1830s till the early 1900s in which white, and later black, people painted their face black and performed a caricature of blackness. The images below (borrowed from Jim Crow History and Wikipedia) are original advertisements for minstrel shows.
Haverly’s United Mastodon Minstrels (circa 1877):
Oliver Scott’s Refined Negro (1898):
Al W. Martin’s Uncle Tom’s cabin (1898):
Wm. H. West’s Big Minstrel Jubilee (1900):
Postcard (1906):
For more caricatures of black people in U.S. history, see these posts: one, twp, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, and twenty.
And for examples of modern reproductions of these stereotypes (literally), see these: one, two, three, four, and five.
For examples and discussion of contemporary “blackface,” see one, two, three, four, five, and six. Also, bugs bunny.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 16
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist — February 19, 2010
uncomfortable.
Cristina — February 19, 2010
links dont work :(
Sarah — February 19, 2010
It breaks my heart to see the rise in popularity of modern "blackface." Dismissing the legitimacy of gajillions of people based on nothing other than the color of their skin is abhorrent, and has no place in a society of "progress."
Kat — February 19, 2010
I find it interesting that something much more prevalent today (note: today!) than blackface is not mentioned: redface. See the ever 'wonderful' Twilight Saga.
Vidya — February 19, 2010
I often argue that today's 'gansta rap' is a modern version of the minstrel show. While most performers are black, most record company execs (who call the shots) are white, as are the majority of rap-music consumers (I've read 70%?). So, we have black people performing white-held stereotypes of the dangerous, gun-toting, bling-obsessed and 'ho'-loving young black man, for a white audience. That audience, in turn, gets to indulge their own 'baser' cravings while distancing themselves from the social stigmatization and ego-threat that 'owning' those desires themselves would involve.
pedro — February 19, 2010
"...popular from the 1830s till the early 1900s..."
In England, we had the black and white minstrel show on primetime tv in the 1970's, when we also had alf garnett and his anti-racist racism (if that makes sense).
putting racism to one side for a minute, it is amazing to see the artwork here, and to consider the amount of time spent producing these.
that said, the third picture down, basically, what the fuck does he look like? it is so clearly a white man in blackface that it makes me laugh out loud.
also re: above comment about gansta rap. i have had similar thoughts, but then, isnt death row owned by dr dre of NWA fame?
pedro — February 19, 2010
edit: 4th picture down... doh!
Kishh — February 21, 2010
Where is twelve in your list of hyperlinked numbers? :O
Minstrelsy on Ice « zunguzungu — February 23, 2010
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“That” Dimension Jump and “That” Costume « Tripod Anything — April 13, 2011
[...] the attendees – myself included – thought blacking up for a costume was unnecessary and clueless about the history of blackface at best, and downright racist at worst. Some people agreed with Craig Charles (who didn’t [...]