A History of Blackface and Minstrel Shows at Puget Sound

This image is from Denison’s Make-Up Guide, a catalog published in 1926 by T.S. Denison and Company for amateur and professional actors. The catalog includes wigs, beards, and make-up materials for sale. It also provides tutorials on how to replicate various stereotypical and racist characters, and it includes multiple instances of blackface. Look at the image of the “Negro Minstrel” on page 31. Take note of the exaggerated facial features.

This image is from Denison’s Make-Up Guide, a catalog published in 1926 by T.S. Denison and Company for amateur and professional actors. The catalog includes wigs, beards, and make-up materials for sale. It also provides tutorials on how to replicate various stereotypical and racist characters, and it includes multiple instances of blackface. Look at the images of “Negro wigs” on page 70. Note the description for the “Fuzzy-Wuzzy wig.”

This article was published in the January 1917 issue of The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound, in the “College Activities” section on page 14. It states that members of the freshmen class performed a minstrel show in the chapel. Pay particular attention to the descriptions of the performers as wearing blackface applied with charcoal.

The Sixth Avenue Business Men's Club put on a minstrel show at the Jason Lee Auditorium in Tacoma, Washington. This article was published in the December 4, 1925 issue of The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound. Note the number of businessmen who were going to participate in the shows.

The University of Puget Sound Men's Glee Club will be touring towns in northern Washington state, performing a program featuring a twenty minute minstrel show. The article was published in the January 6, 1928 issue of The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound. Notice the details about the show.

Below the “contents” section in the September 1947 issue of the University of Puget Sound alumni magazine, The Alumnus, is a paragraph stating that the annual Homecoming celebration will begin with a minstrel show. Pay attention to the language in the announcement.

This is an advertisement promoting Homecoming weekend events, including the minstrel show titled “Gentlemen Be Seated.” It appears in the September 1947 issue of the University of Puget Sound alumni magazine, The Alumnus. Note the description of the performance.

This is an article on the minstrel show, “Gentlemen Be Seated,” that was performed during Homecoming Weekend at Puget Sound in 1947. It appears in the September 1947 issue of the University of Puget Sound alumni magazine, The Alumnus. Pay attention to the placement of the image of the Minstrel Leader.

This image from the Homecoming Weekend minstrel show, “Gentlemen Be Seated,” appears on page 11 of the Tamanawas, the yearbook for the University of Puget Sound. Contrast the blackface images with other images that appear in the yearbook.

This article in The Trail, the student newspaper for the University of Puget Sound, promotes an upcoming minstrel show titled “Sho’ Nuff,” which was performed on campus in 1949. Note the “worthy cause” stated for hosting the show.

These two articles in The Trail, the student newspaper for the University of Puget Sound, reflect on the minstrel show, “Sho’ Nuff,” that was performed on campus several days prior. How was the production normalized?

This is the production script for the minstrel show, “Sho’ Nuff,” which was performed on campus at the University of Puget Sound in 1949. How are the characters portrayed in the show?

This image is of a float decorated by a University of Puget Sound sorority for the 1952 Homecoming parade in downtown Tacoma, Washington. The Homecoming theme that year was “Political Stew in ‘52.” Pay attention to the women’s dress and the words on the side of the float.

This image is of a float decorated by a University of Puget Sound sorority for the 1952 Homecoming parade in downtown Tacoma, Washington. The Homecoming theme that year was “Political Stew in ‘52.” What are the objects on the float with the women?

These images from the Lip Sync Contest appear on page 226 of the Tamanawas, the yearbook for the University of Puget Sound. Note the blackface image at the bottom right. Who participated in the contest? How was it received?

These articles from the The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound, relate to flyers posted on campus for the Infinite Monkeys Theatre Festival. One of the flyers showed a monkey in blackface, posing in the traditional Uncle Sam pose, with the caption reading “We Want You!” Contrast the reaction to this incident with any of the previous Trail articles covering minstrel shows. The second article is an opinion piece. What does it bring to the conversation?

This opinion piece in The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound, questions the university’s response to a number of student offenses, one of which is wearing blackface. Can you decipher what the student’s position is on how the university should appropriately respond to the offenses?

In a letter to the Editor of The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound, an actor in the production of ‘The Cripple of Inishmaan,’ responds to the criticism that likens the play to a Thug Life party in its cultural insensitivity. When reading the piece, keep in mind that the play’s author is Irish. How does that affect how you view the play, based on the letter?

This article in The Trail, the student newspaper at the University of Puget Sound, details the formation of the Bias and Hate Education Response Team (BHERT). What do you think the author of the opinion piece titled “Puget Sound should be teacher, not Big Brother,” which questioned the university’s response to student offenses, would say about the formation of BHERT?