more racialist business

bogarus's post got me thinkin about minstrels ... and what an odd phenomenon it was ... instead of the dominant culture subduing the minority and simply exploiting the people physically (which is almost always the case), it exploited its culture, and thusly helped spread that culture (albeit, a very racist perception) across the country and even into europe ... of course, the roman's adopted customs and even gods from the people they conquered, but i don't remember reading anything about roman musicians dressing up as celts or visigoths and performing for the emperor ... as the Ethiopian Serenaders did ...

Their first major performance was for John Tyler at the White House in 1844 as part of the "Especial Amusement of the President of the United States, His Family and Friends"

even more bizarre, is that anyone with a basic knowledge of geography, or understanding of the slave trade knows that the vast majority of american slaves came from WEST africa ... yet, many minstrel troupes and even opera houses for minstrels had names with "ethiopia" them ... if you find this subject as fascinating as me, i suggest you (at least) read the wiki on it

The rise of the minstrel show coincided with the growth of the abolitionist movement. Many Northerners were concerned for the oppressed blacks of the South, but most had no idea how these slaves lived day-to-day. Blackface performance had been inconsistent on this subject; some slaves were happy, others victims of a cruel and inhuman institution.[17] However, in the 1850s minstrelsy became decidedly mean-spirited and pro-slavery as race replaced class as its main focus.[18] Most minstrels projected a greatly romanticized and exaggerated image of black life with cheerful, simple slaves always ready to sing and dance and to please their masters. (Less frequently, the masters cruelly split up black lovers or sexually assaulted black women.)[19] The lyrics and dialogue were generally racist, satiric, and largely white in origin. Songs about slaves yearning to return to their masters were plentiful. The message was clear: do not worry about the slaves; they are happy with their lot in life.[20] Figures like the Northern dandy and the homesick ex-slave reinforced the idea that blacks did not belong, nor did they want to belong, in Northern society.[21]"

however, despite this attitude, black minstrels did appear on the scene, and gained as much prominence as their white counterparts with black performers being as popular as any white minstrel, again on our friends, the Ethiopian Serenaders

The Serenaders eventually returned to London, this time with the addition of William Henry Lane, a black man known as "Master Juba"

... the shows were billed and structured similairly to white minstrel shows, however ...

White curiosity proved a powerful motivator, and the shows were patronized by people who wanted to see blacks acting "spontaneously" and "naturally", as if on exhibit.[39] Promoters seized on this, one billing his troupe as "THE DARKY AS HE IS AT HOME, DARKY LIFE IN THE CORNFIELD, CANEBRAKE, BARNYARD, AND ON THE LEVEE AND FLATBOAT."[40] Keeping with convention, black minstrels still corked the faces of at least the endmen. One commentator described a mostly uncorked black troupe as "mulattoes of a medium shade except two, who were light. . . . The end men were each rendered thoroughly black by burnt cork."

here's the main page from which i gathered most of this info

so anyway, i had no idea that a show like this ever, or for that matter, could exist in the 19th century ... the black and white minstrel show ... courtesy of the BBC, aired from 1957 to 1978 and won several prominent awards ...