Blackface is the practice of non-black performers using burnt cork or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment.
In the United States, the practice became a popular entertainment during the 19th century into the 20th. It contributed to the spread of racial stereotypes such as "Jim Crow", the "happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation", and "Zip Coon" also known as the "dandified coon".[1][2][3] By the middle of the 19th century, blackface minstrel shows had become a distinctive American artform, translating formal works such as opera into popular terms for a general audience.[4]
Early in the 20th century, blackface branched off from the minstrel show and became a form of entertainment in its own right,[5] including as Tom Shows parodying abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. In the United States, blackface declined in popularity from the 1940s, with performances dotting the cultural landscape into the Civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.[6] It was generally considered highly offensive, disrespectful, and racist by the late 20th century,[7] but the practice (or similar-looking ones) was exported to other countries.[8][9]
^For the "darky"/"coon" distinction see, for example, note 34 on p. 167 of Edward Marx and Laura E. Franey's annotated edition of Yone Noguchi, The American Diary of a Japanese Girl, Temple University Press, 2007, ISBN 1592135552. See also Lewis A. Erenberg (1984), Steppin' Out: New York Nightlife and the Transformation of American Culture, 1890–1930, University of Chicago Press, p. 73, ISBN 0226215156. For more on the "darky" stereotype, see J. Ronald Green (2000), Straight Lick: The Cinema of Oscar Micheaux, Indiana University Press, pp. 134, 206, ISBN 0253337534; p. 151 of the same work also alludes to the specific "coon" archetype.
^Nowatzki, Robert (2006). "Paddy Jumps Jim Crow: Irish-Americans and Blackface Minstrelsy". Éire-Ireland. 41 (3): 162–184. doi:10.1353/eir.2007.0010. S2CID 161886074. Project MUSE 207996.
^Rehin, George F. (December 1975). "Harlequin Jim Crow: Continuity and Convergence in Blackface Clowning". The Journal of Popular Culture. 9 (3): 682–701. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1975.0903_682.x. ProQuest 1297376766.
^Mahar, William John (1999). Behind the Burnt Cork Mask: Early Blackface Minstrelsy and Antebellum American Popular Culture. University of Illinois Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-252-06696-2.
^Sweet, Frank W. (2000). A History of the Minstrel Show. Boxes & Arrows, Incorporated. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-939479-21-4.
^Clark, Alexis. "How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism". History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. 2019.
^Desmond-Harris, Jenée (October 29, 2014). "Don't get what's wrong with blackface? Here's why it's so offensive". Vox.
^Garen, Micah; Carleton, Marie-Helene; Swaab, Justine (November 27, 2019). "Black Pete tradition 'Dutch racism in full display'". Al Jazeera. Protesters have rallied against the Dutch blackface tradition
^Thelwell, Chinua (2020). Exporting Jim Crow: Blackface Minstrelsy in South Africa and Beyond. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 978-1-61376-766-5. Project MUSE book 77081.[page needed]
Blackface is the practice of non-black performers using burnt cork or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment...
Ogwule, Agatu, Benue State, Nigeria), known by his stage name Blackface Naija or just Blackface, is a Nigerian dancehall, ragga, reggae singer, and songwriter...
Digital blackface is a term used to describe the phenomenon of non-Black individuals using digital media, such as GIFs, memes, or audio clips featuring...
The Blackface or Scottish Blackface is a British breed of sheep. It is the most common sheep breed of the United Kingdom. Despite the name, it did not...
19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of comically portraying racial stereotypes of African...
This is a list of entertainers known to have performed in blackface makeup, whether in a minstrel show, as satire or historical depiction of such roles...
respond to the diss track. The cover features a 2007 photograph of Drake in blackface taken by David Leyes. Drake commented on the cover, saying "the photo...
due to its contestants' frequent usage of blackface. Prominent artists who have been impersonated via blackface include Drake, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson...
"vibrato").[citation needed] The Blackface amplifiers were produced between 1963 and mid 1968 with the earliest blackface piggyback and large combo amps...
himself Jack Robin, he has become a talented jazz singer, performing in blackface. He attempts to build a career as an entertainer, but his professional...
Blackface Mountain is a summit in Alberta, Canada. Blackface Mountain most likely was so named on account of its appearance. "Blackface Mountain". Geographical...
he sang. Jolson has been referred to by modern critics as "the king of blackface performers". Although best remembered today as the star of the first talking...
critic Carole Boston Weatherford, who described Jynx as representing blackface after seeing the character's depiction in the anime. Due to complaints...
Multiple theories exist about the origins of the theatrical practice of blackface as a caricature of black people. One interpretation is that it can be...
apology, an earlier instance from the early 1990s of Trudeau wearing blackface makeup was uncovered. The following day, Trudeau apologized again and...
Blackface in contemporary art covers issues from stage make-up used to make non-black performers appear black (the traditional meaning of blackface),...
Ganguro (ガングロ) is an alternative fashion trend among young Japanese women which peaked in popularity around the year 2000 and evolved from gyaru. The Shibuya...
The impala or rooibok (Aepyceros melampus) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus Aepyceros...
The Norfolk Horn (also known as Blackface Norfolk Horned, Norfolk Horned, Old Norfolk or Old Norfolk Horned) is one of the British black-faced sheep breeds...
banned blackface, but some groups have continued to wear blackface into the 21st century over growing protests. However, as of 2017, the use of blackface is...
version of the character, since deemed a racial stereotype, usually put on blackface and colourful Renaissance attire in addition to curly wigs and bright...
"Pro-Kremlin TV ridicules Obama with blackface skit". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 January 2022. "Obama Blackface Skit on Kremlin-Funded TV Sparks Outrage"...
and R&B music group. The group's members were 2face Idibia, Faze and Blackface. The group was formed during their college years in Enugu, at the Institute...
controversial pictures and video were published showing Trudeau in brownface and blackface. On September 18, 2019, Time magazine published a photograph of Trudeau...
"MYMP wears blackface as Halloween costume, says Black Lives Matter is propaganda". Retrieved October 31, 2020. "MYMP in hot water over blackface performance"...