Cotton and Chick Watts in Yes Sir, Mr. Bones, 1951. Kit Parker Films/ Ikachina
Jim Crow Jubilee, 1847. Washington State University
Jim Crow Jubilee, 1847. Washington State University
Thomas Rice created the character "Jim Crow" in 1828, when he created the first minstrel show, which mocked and reinforced stereotypes of enslaved people in a performance format.
Cotton and Chick Watts in Yes Sir, Mr. Bones, 1951. Kit Parker Films/ Ikachina
Jim Crow Print, c. 1835. Library of Congress
Minstrel shows rose quickly as an extremely popular form of family entertainment and became an American obsession.
Haverly's European Mastodon Minstrels at President Garfield's Inaugaration, 1898. Library of Congress
Faced with few opportunities after the Civil War, black performers broke into the entertainment business through minstrelsy, reinforcing stereotypes of African-Americans. Black performers would be boxed into these categories for decades to come.
Bert Williams and George Walker, African-American minstresl, 1899. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
"All the best [black] talent of that generation came down the same drain"
-W.C. Handy, c. 1941