A History of Blackface and Minstrel Shows at Puget Sound

The minstrel show, in which white performers blackened their faces and spoke in exaggerated African American vernacular, traded in stereotypes of blacks to entertain white audiences. Although no one is certain who first performed in blackface, Thomas D. Rice, professionally known as Daddy Rice, is credited as the father of American minstrelsy. Rice, an actor born on the lower east side of Manhattan, New York, created the popular Jim Crow character, namesake of a series of laws enforcing segregation in the South.

Interestingly, minstrel shows were more popular in the North than the South. Pre-Civil War audiences in the North had little interaction with or knowledge of African Americans. In fact, abolitionists initially welcomed minstrel shows as a means of educating Northern whites about the evils of slavery. However, the minstrel shows did not reflect plantation life with any accuracy. Slaves were portrayed as singing and dancing happy go lucky darkies, pickaninnies, and loyal mammies and Uncle Toms who were content with their life of slavery. Free blacks in the North were portrayed as shiftless, lazy, and buffoonish. These characterizations were a means of maintaining white supremacist society, intimating that the proper place for African Americans was in the South.

After the turn of the century, minstrel shows gradually began to lose their popularity, taking their place alongside other forms of legitimate entertainment such as musicals, burlesque, and vaudeville. Eventually, minstrel shows disappeared from theatrical stages even though problematic characters and actors such as Amos ‘n’ Andy, Stepin Fetchit, and Rochester took to radio, film, and television and amateur theatrical societies continued to perform them in some form. Moreover, issues of cultural appropriation and symbolic blackface continue to be debated; and the harmful stereotypes minstrel shows introduced have haunted African American performers well into the late 20th and early 21st century. Musicians, actors, and comedians have had to contend with how their acts are viewed differently by black and white audiences and if they are unwittingly replicating the minstrel show dynamic. Indeed, Dave Chappelle credited a skit he performed in blackface as being one of the reasons why he walked away from his hit show. Spike Lee’s Bamboozled looks at how such harmful images are marketed in the media and the film drew its own fair share of criticism based on the over-the-top characters it employed. Just recently, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima, two such icons that echo Uncle Tom and Mammy, were stricken from the culture in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Seemingly every Halloween there are news stories of college students attending Thug Life parties or browning their faces for Cholo fiestas. From humble beginnings, minstrel shows continue to cast a long shadow over American culture.

The materials in this source set document the history of minstrel shows and blackface at the University of Puget Sound as a reflection of the wider society.