Blackface:
A Shameful History
Nathan Franklin
Nowadays, we live in an equal society where we
can generally live alongside one another safe
from discrimination and prejudice. We all have
an equal opportunity in this life and reserve the
right to be treated in this manner, to be treated
with respect and politeness regardless of skin
colour or country of origin.
However it has not always been this way. Blackface is a form of racial humour that can be traced
back to the mid-1800’s. It revolves around the
portrayal of racist black stereotypes based on
white man’s characterisation. Many white actors have managed to perfect the craft of minstrelsy in the past and have even made names
for themselves in doing so, entertaining audiences worldwide. Of course, in today’s world,
such acts would not go down well, given the distinctly differing attitudes of the modern public.
In times past though, it proved itself a thriving
moneymaker and a pleasure for audiences.
Blackface had its origins in theatre, a popular
form of entertainment in the mid-1800’s. The
true pioneers of the Blackface comedy movement were actors Thomas Rice and George
Dixen. Rice was responsible for creating the
Jim Crow character, where he would blacken his
face with burnt cork and dance a jig while singing the lyrics to the song, ‘Jumpin’ Jim Crow’, a
song sung amongst black slaves.
Playing his act in the Park Theatre in New York,
Rice would later be called ‘Daddy’ Rice, being
perceived as the grand-father of the Minstrel
movement. The inspiration behind Rice’s performance was based on real African slaves who
performed a similar dance in their culture. Many
artists would be inspired by Rice and continue
to create minstrel acts in the wake of his fame.
Among them was George Dixen who created
Zip Coon, a character that mocked free blacks
who wore high-class clothing and made a series of puns and malaprops that undermined
his attempts to be successful. Eventually, the
characters of Jim Crow and Zip Coon combined
to create the ‘coon’ and would further inspire a
host of other black stereotypes in the comedy
business.
These included the ‘Mama’, a source of earthy
wisdom who is fiercely independent, and also a
trope that has stayed for years, common in today’s fictional media. The same can also be said
of ‘The Buck’, who was presented as a proud,
menacing black man who is always interested in
white women; this would later inspire the ‘black
gangster’ image that has come to dominate certain parts of our culture in today’s society.
Before that image was conceptualised however, the act of minstrelsy was taken from the
stage and onto other forms of media; be it radio