“Whitewashing Blackface Minstrelsy in American College Textbooks” is an article by Joseph Byrd, in which he covers the roots of minstrelsy in America, its audience, major contributors and impact. The article also calls out an issue that is still seen today, the minimization or complete disappearance of this disturbing era in American History Textbooks.
Blackface comedy was a form of entertainment in which white performers stereotypically mimicked and mocked African Americans; parading around with their skin artificially darkened by burnt cork [1]. It originated in England in the mid-18th century, but became an integral part of American culture by the middle of the 19th century.
White actors who had seen “real life” blacks, imitated their performances in what were to become the first minstrel shows. Thomas Dartmouth Rice and George Washington Dixon being the pioneers of blackface performance, helped to create two of the popular characters common in minstrel shows; the bumblin’ country Jim Crow and the city slickin’ Zip Coon. These early blackface performances were well received and highly successful, inspiring a plethora of copycat performers who began to pop up and form troupes across the country.
Something that caught my attention was the theme of my previous paragraph. A white man, allegedly “observed” a black man dancing and and was “inspired.” The white man then reproduces the work of the black man, repackages it in a more acceptable “white friendly” version, and voila! The white man profits. It’s the equivalent of someone plagiarizing your paper, submitting it and getting an A; when you originally received an F. This entire concept is still a present reality, however today it would be coined as “cultural appropriation.”
For example, look at musical artists like Eminem and Iggy Azalea. Eminem, a white American male (born Marshall Mathers), could arguably be named as one of the best rappers of our generation, despite rap/hip-hop historically being a solely African-American genre. Though many, including black hip-hop cosigners, can argue that Eminem is truly talented and deserves his many accolades, it’s challenging to say the same of Iggy Azalea, a white Australian female who was launched into rap superstardom via her golden blonde hair and exaggerated, stereotypical “blaccent” which can be observed in the video below. Though Iggy has yet to put on an actual blackface costume, the idea of mimicking black stereotypes in performance for profit can still be comparable to minstrelsy.
In its earlier years, the target audience for blackface were working class white males known as the lumpenproletariat. Marx and Engels likened this social class to a poor, nomadic tribe that were innately depraved [2]. Breaking down the word lumpenproletariat, we see lumpen and proletariat. For those familiar with Marxism, the proletariat are known as the working class. Cambridge defines the word lumpen as an adjective used to describe people who are poorly educated and ignorant, possessing no desire to change their situation. So in essence, uneducated labourers. In that time period, lower class working class whites and emancipated African-American slaves were in competition for jobs. The fear of the increasing number of African-American migrants coming in and overtaking the workforce is what spurred the Draft Riots of 1863 [3]. Given the tensions between black and white workers, it is understandable that minstrelsy appealed to the lower class white people. Seeing black people in a degrading manner likely empowered the white working class patrons. It likely gave them a feeling of reassurance in their perceived racial superiority. The dehumanizing nature of minstrelsy inspired new prejudice and ignorance in some, and strengthened the notion in others [4].
Seeing black people as lesser than was the foundation of the Jim Crow laws that were seen post-Civil War. The Jim Crow laws enforced the intentional segregation of African-American people in society. Businesses, schools, movie theatres and water fountains are just a few of the places that were explicitly labelled for “Whites” or “Colored.” Comparably to a load of laundry, “coloreds” could not dare to be found in a spot allocated for “whites only.” The name of the Jim Crow laws comes from none other than the infamous “Jim Crow” character created by blackface performer Thomas Dartmouth Rice. This just proves to show the impact of minstrelsy on America; a fictitious character became so mainstream that they became the stereotypical figurehead of black people to the point that laws were named after him.
Going back to the article, Byrd extensively covers many examples of the minstrel songs sung in this era, and their all of their problematic lyrics, omitting and censoring nothing. Though uncomfortable, it is important to look at history a whole, learning from the good, the bad and the ugly. However, “the ugly” (America’s extremely racist past) is often seen as an elephant in the room. It is awkward to discuss, as it makes people uncomfortable. Or to be more specific, it makes those who are still reaping the benefits of the mistreatment of African Americans (white people) uncomfortable or sometimes guilty. The long-term effects of slavery, segregation and racism can still be seen in Modern Day America. Systematic oppression, police brutality, and human rights movements like #BlackLivesMatter are evidence of this.
Personally, I believe most, if not all white people are innately aware of how America’s racist past has given them an upper hand, and how it still negatively impacts the black population today. Activist Jane Elliott can be seen tackling this idea in the video below:
Hitting the nail on the head, Jane challenges the “ignorance is bliss” mentality of many of her fellow white Americans. The fact that nobody stood up shows that they know that African Americans are not treated well in America to this date. Some, like to avoid (or even deny) the topic of racism and feign ignorance because racism makes them feel guilty. Though America is becoming more culturally diverse, White Americans still comprise a majority of the population. Textbook publishers know that the market, especially in the American educational system, is predominantly white, so they have that in mind when writing textbooks. Because the textbooks are written with a predominantly white audience in mind, this is likely why controversial subjects like minstrelsy and blackface are hardly covered, or even completely excluded. Waking up and smelling the coffee would challenge Americans to be morally responsible in acknowledging its country’s historical transgressions; and to work forward in establishing a restitutory solution. However, the idea of the sacrifices that this would entail are not appealing to many. This is why staying “asleep” and whitewashing or eliminating the upsetting parts of America’s history is a more preferred and commonly seen option.
1. Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes on. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2013, 18.
2. Stallybrass, Peter. “Marx and Heterogeneity: Thinking the Lumpenproletariat.” Representations, no. 31 (1990): 69-95. doi:10.2307/2928400.
3. Man, Albon P. “Labor Competition and the New York Draft Riots of 1863.” The Journal of Negro History 36, no. 4 (1951): 375-405. doi:10.2307/2715371.
4. Campbell, Popular Music, 28.
5. (2009) Whitewashing Blackface Minstrelsy in American College Textbooks, Popular Music and Society,32:1, 77-86, DOI: 10.1080/03007760802207882
