Articles > Government magazines > Applied and Social Sciences magazines > Dictionary of American History entries

Article: Minstrel Shows

Article from:
Dictionary of American History
Author:
Copyright

MINSTREL SHOWS

MINSTREL SHOWS evolved from early nineteenth century theatrical performances of Negro "delineators," most famously Thomas D. Rice, the original "Jim Crow." Rice was not the first white actor to appear on stage in blackface, but his imitation of African American song, dance, and dialect introduced a style of entertainment that broadly influenced American popular culture. Unlike

Rice's song and dance acts, the minstrel show offered full evenings of blackface entertainment and became known for its standard characters from the opening scene. The interlocutor appeared in blackface but did not speak in dialect. He directed the row of seated musicians and elicited jokes in ...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

Article: Bring it in; From minstrel shows to jazz, from ...
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN);  December 14, 1997 ;     700+ words ... ... in Minneapolis on Wednesday. That beat has hung on from minstrel shows to the blues, jazz to rock to rap, ragtime to "Shuffle ... only woman, joined them. Together, they began tracing African-American history, starting with slave ships and startling images ...

Article: MINSTREL SHOWS STAIN OUR HERITAGE
Roanoke Times & World News;  February 18, 2006 ;     700+ words ... ... Roanoke and outlying areas was to stage minstrel shows? That is, revues with song and dance ... Encyclopaedia Britannica tells me that minstrel shows originated in America, were popular ... Kenrick's "A History of Musical Minstrel Shows," published on the Web at musicals101 ...

Article: minstrel shows
The New York Public Library Book of Popular Americana;      215 words ...00-00-0000 minstrel shows minstrel shows The dominant theater form of the mid-nineteenth century, featuring blackface whites performing skits and songs in Negro dialect. Daddy Thomas RICE initiated the genre in the 1820s, and within a decade ...

Article: The black-face of Comedy: Spike Lee's latest film, Bamboozled, ...
Tri-State Defender;  November 1, 2000 ;     700+ words ... ... s latest film, Bamboozled, looks at the controversial minstrel shows. by Tim Butler Tri-State Defender Entertainment Editor ... is a throw back to the old days of the "black-face" minstrel shows. Starring a homeless tap dancer (Savion Glover) and his ...

Article: Minstrel Shows Evolved During 1800s
Chicago Sun-Times;  February 1, 1995 ;     399 words ... ... of the worst stereotypes created by whites. Nevertheless, a golden era of black entertainers developed by the 1890s. Minstrel shows by whites and blacks continued into the early 20th century, but were ultimately replaced by the vaudeville variety show ...

Article: Director and emcee of church minstrel shows
Concord Monitor;  March 20, 2007 ;     620 words ... ... He was a lifelong communicant of the Immaculate Conception Church. He served as the director and emcee of the church minstrel shows. He was a member of the church choir; served as a Eucharistic minister, greeter and gift bearer; was on the parish council ...

Article: FROM MINSTREL SHOWS TO RADIO SHOWS: RACISM AND ...
The Journal of American Drama and Theatre;  April 1, 2005 ;     700+ words ...Perhaps the most popular image of the American minstrel is that of a white man in blackface performing a variety of racist skits and jokes, like those performed by the Christy Minstrel Singers in 1842, and/or singing whitewashed notions of slave plantation songs, like those performed by Al Jolson

Article: COLVIN THE MINSTREL SHOWS A FEW HARD EDGES.(Life ...
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA);  February 25, 2002 ;     700+ words ...Byline: BILL WHITE Special to the P-I Shawn Colvin brought the ambience of a New England coffeehouse to Benaroya Hall Saturday night. Her 90-minute solo concert was as intimate and conversational as a fireside open mike. Opening with a simply strummed, straightforward reading of Donovan's "Catch

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!

Find articles, research, and archives