Minstrels Case

Minstrelsy refers to the music and poetry of the medieval periods. Songs, dances, and skits can be interpreted through minstrels. Black minstrels consisted of performers who created a stereotyped caricature of a black person. (Blackface, Wikipedia). There were minstrels such as the Black and Vaudeville that depicted the African American stereotypes.

As I viewed clips from the Minstrel Man, I got kind of confused to what the clip was actually portraying. I'm not sure if it was to depict a form of entertainment in the older days, or if it was making fun of African Americans. I was not amused at all about the minstrel because it portrayed African Americans as being a comedy show, and not people who can be taken seriously. As I viewed the Black and Vaudeville, I learned that the minstrels weren't just to make fun of blacks, but to mainly get a laugh because it is considered show business. They were corks to portray blacks while they performed. It played a significant role in portraying racist images and attitudes of blacks, but also making the black culture more popular. Dewey Pigmeat Markem was a famous singer and performer who also wore his cork as he performed in the minstrels until he was told not to wear the cork. He felt as if a part of him was gone with the cork. He stated, "I can't express myself anymore; I can't feel like I felt when I had on the cork." As I viewed the Blacks and Vaudeville, Part 2, I started to appreciate the Nicholas Brothers for bringing class to their shows. They refused to put on the corks and mimic black people. Form reading the Blackface, what stood out the most would have to be the fact that white audiences wouldn't accept black entertainers unless they performed in the blackface makeup. I don't understand the purpose of wearing burnt cork that's darker than your actual complexion. I think the main purpose of the cork was to make blacks look ridiculous so that people could be amused.

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