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The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an indigenous form of American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, usually performed by white people in blackface, but increasingly (especially after the American Civil War) by African American performers, who also wore blackface. Minstrel shows unvaryingly portrayed African Americans in a deeply humiliating way: as ignorant, lazy, joyous and musical. The minstrel show began with brief burlesques and comic entr'actes in the early 1830s and emerged as a full-fledged form in the next decade. By the end of the 1850s, minstrel shows as such had become a "lifeless… * profitable" institution,Lott 73. which lingered on for several decades. By the turn of the century, the minstrel show enjoyed but a shadow of its former popularity, having been replaced for the most part by vaudeville. It survived as professional entertainment until about 1910, and was performed until the 1950s in high schools, fraternities, local theaters. In the 1950s as African Americans began to score legal and social victories against racism and to successfully assert political power, minstrelsy lost popularity.
Blackface minstrelsy was the first distinctly American theatrical form. In the 1830s and 1840s, it was at the core of the rise of an American music industry, and for several decades it provided the lens through which white America saw black America. On the one hand, it had strong racist aspects; on the other, it resulted in the first broad awareness by white Americans of aspects of African American folk culture.
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More on [ Minstrel show ]
19th Century American :: History
Amos 'n' Andy :: Sitcoms
Performing Arts :: Arts and Culture
Race and Racism :: Race Ethnic Religious Relations
Watching BET's Top 100 Minstrel Shows (music videos) of 2009
jeanpjohnson (Je'an Pierre Johnson) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:25:03 -0000
Watching BET's Top 100 Minstrel Shows (music videos) of 2009
Andre in 1999: Minstrel shows will become a HIT once again. Except this time it will be with black audiences. #tylerperry #decadepredictions
andre_louis (Andre Louis) Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:51:05 -0000
Andre in 1999: Minstrel shows will become a HIT once again. Except this time it will be with black audiences. #tylerperry #decadepredictions
"...the derogatory black-face minstrel shows of the 19th century." Wikipedia - Otis Taylor (Musician) entry
jasonrtyson (Jason Tyson) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:37:24 -0000
"...the derogatory black-face minstrel shows of the 19th century." Wikipedia - Otis Taylor (Musician) entry
!!!! RT @Les_is_more82: Black folks would get mad if they brought back Minstrel shows. But they love them some Soulja Boy #imjustsayin
TheCosby (Lawrence V. Cosby) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:49:00 -0000
!!!! RT @Les_is_more82: Black folks would get mad if they brought back Minstrel shows. But they love them some Soulja Boy #imjustsayin
@EFCuttin Tyler Perry makes high budget minstrel shows
digitaldude504 (Jamel Clark) Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:27:00 -0000
@EFCuttin Tyler Perry makes high budget minstrel shows
@JetSetWil mom dukes got me hip to EARL. .maad silly, i never did fuck wit the tyler perry minstrel shows! lol
BeeRush (Bee Rush) Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:48:48 -0000
@JetSetWil mom dukes got me hip to EARL. .maad silly, i never did fuck wit the tyler perry minstrel shows! lol
A Look Back at Minstrelsy - Read about minstrelsy, and find out why it was popular during the 19th century.
Meta Description: [ During the 19th century, it became a popular pastime to spend an evening at a minstrel theater. While it was entertainment, the main attraction for white audiences was that it was a declaration of white superiority. ]
A Mini Minstral Show - Includes a typical script, promotional images, and commentary.
Africans in America - Information on the origins of the minstrel character, Jim Crow.
American Minstrel Show Collection - Information about the archive held at Princeton University.
Bamboozled - The official site for the Spike Lee satire on a modern minstrel show includes essays and extensive resources on the history of the minstrel show and blackface and its impact on American culture and race relations.
Meta Description: [ Television gets a bold new viewing in
Spike LeeÍs BAMBOOZLED. LeeÍs latest film is a blistering satire of network
televisionÍs pitfalls and prejudices, a humorous look at how race, ratings
and the pursuit of power lead to a television writerÍs stunning rise and
tragic downfall. Starring Damon Way... ]
Black and White Minstrel Show, The - Article on the 1950s BBC series filmed in the American tradition. From the Museum of Television online.
Black-Face Minstrelsy - Includes images, background and a script sample.
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University - Racism and racial stereotypes in the Jim Crow Era. Includes extensive information on minstrel shows, the stock characters originated in them such as Jim Crow, Zip Coon and their impact on American life.
Meta Description: [ Racism and racial stereotypes in the Jim Crow Era. Racial discrimination against minorities, blacks and African Americans. Minstrel shows, Al Jolson and Amos and Andy. ]
Lift Every Voice: Minstrels - Companion to the Music in American Life exhibit at the University of Virginia Library. Commentary accompanies pictures of original minstrel show programs, illustrations and paraphanalia.
Minstrel and Vaudeville Ephemera - For sale over the internet.
Meta Description: [ Minstrel and Vaudeville Ephemera at Pat Sweeney Ephemera For about 100 years - from 1850 to 1950 - the minstrel show was a signifiant part of American entertainment. During these 10 decades, the minstrel show underwent many transformations. It started as a Northern big city curiosity with beginn... ]
Minstrel Show, The - Page from a site on the Jacksonian era in America provides a short history of the minstrel genre and an exploration of the archtypes it created.
Minstrel Shows - Explores the musical tradition. Includes an article by John Kenrick and a typical minstrel program.
Minstrelsy Homepage 1830-1852 - Includes image gallery, songs, texts, notices and reviews, articles, and essays and interpretation of the minstrel show tradition.
November 1901: Minstrel Show in Los Angeles - Contemporary newspaper account from the Los Angelies Herald.
Stephen Foster | Blackface Minstrelsy - From the website for the PBS American Experience documentary Stephen Foster a page of information on the Minstrel Show in the 19th century.
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