Minstrel Shows Research Paper

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The most prominent and popular form of American entertainment in the nineteenth and well into the twentieth century was the minstrel shows. “If American popular music has a birthday, it could easily be March 7, 1843. On that evening, the Virginia Minstrels, a four-man troupe of experienced blackface performers, presented the first complete minstrel show at the Masonic Temple in Boston.” (Brody, Campbell 29). The white men would apply burnt cork or grease paint to their faces to have the appearance of blacks. The blackface performers would dress in outlandish outfits and then perform songs and skits that mocked African Americans. The foundation of American song, dance and comedy was laid down by white and black minstrel stage legends.
The Minstrel shows usually had three acts. First, the troupe would dance out on stage, exchange wisecracks and sing songs. Second, a variety of entertainment consisting of pun-filled speech. Lastly, the act featured slapstick musical plantation skits. Several stock characters were …show more content…
The entertainment came at the expense of African Americans. White people knew little about black culture and was curious as to how the culture worked. The minstrel shows portrayed that black slaves were content with everything in their lives and enjoyed slavery. These shows capitalized off the African American culture to make a profit.
Many African American performers got their start in black minstrelsy. After the American Civil War, the minstrel shows allowed African Americans to work on stage. Although slavery had ended after the Civil War, the races were still not considered equal. Black performers had a hard time finding work. They would take jobs in the minstrel shows to make a living and be on stage. This allowed them to break through some entertainment barriers. Unfortunately, they had to impersonate Caucasian’s impersonating their own race to gain
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