Blackface

Modern-day manifestations

Over time, blackface and darky iconography became artistic and stylistic devices associated with art deco and the Jazz Age. By the 1950s and '60s, particularly in Europe, where it was more widely tolerated, blackface became a kind of outré, camp convention in some artistic circles. The Black and White Minstrel Show was a popular British musical variety show that featured blackface performers, and remained on British television until 1978. Actors and dancers in blackface appeared in music videos such as Taco Ockerse's "Puttin' on the Ritz" and Grace Jones's "Slave to the Rhythm", which aired regularly on MTV during the 1980s.

Related Topics:
Art deco - Jazz Age - '60s - Camp - The Black and White Minstrel Show - British - Variety show - 1978 - Music videos - Taco Ockerse - Puttin' on the Ritz - Grace Jones - MTV - 1980s

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Darky iconography, while generally considered taboo in the U.S., still persists around the world. When trade and tourism produce a confluence of cultures, bringing differing sensibilities regarding blackface into contact with one another, the results can be jarring. Darky iconography is still popular in Japan today, but when Japanese toymaker Sanrio Corporation exported a darky-icon character doll in the 1990s, the ensuing controversy prompted Sanrio to halt production. Foreigners visiting the Netherlands in November and December are often shocked or appalled at the sight of whites in classic blackface as a character known as Zwarte Piet, whom many Dutch nationals love as a holiday symbol. Travellers to Spain have expressed dismay at seeing "Conguito", http://www.lacasa.es/web/conguitos/conguitos/conguitos.asp a tubby, little brown character with full, red lips, as the trademark for Conguitos, a confection manufactured by the LACASA Group. In Britain, "Golly", http://www.prmuseum.com/kendrix/abroad.html a blackface golliwog character, finally fell out of favor in 2001 after almost a century as the trademark of jam producer James Robertson & Sons; but the debate still continues whether the golliwog should be banished in all forms from further commercial production and display, or preserved as a treasured childhood icon. The influence of blackface on branding and advertising, as well as on perceptions and portrayals of blacks, generally, can be found worldwide. Black and brown products, particularly, such as licorice and chocolate, remain commodities most frequently paired with darky iconography.

Related Topics:
Sanrio Corporation - Netherlands - Zwarte Piet - Spain - 2001 - Licorice - Chocolate

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The Netherlands' Zwarte Piet

Zwarte Piet, or "Black Peter", is a character in Dutch and Flemish Sinterklaas lore, described variously as a slave liberated by St. Nicholas or servant of Sinterklaas whose feast, mainly targeted at children, is celebrated December 5th or 6th. Some sources indicate that Zwarte Piet originally was an enslaved devil, rather than a Moor. http://www.annien.com/Holidays/Christmas/Legends/santa_legend.html. Zwarte Piet is often characterized variously as buffoonish, mean, mischievous and stupid. Once portrayed realistically, Zwarte Piet became a classic darky icon in the mid-to-late 19th century, contemporaneous with the spread of darky iconography. To this day, holiday revellers in the Netherlands blacken their faces; wear afro wigs and bright, red lipstick; and walk the streets, throwing candy to passersby, some of them behaving dim-wittedly and/or speaking mangled Dutch as embodiments of Zwarte Piet.

Related Topics:
Zwarte Piet - Dutch - Flemish - Sinterklaas - Lore - Moor - 19th century - Afro - Candy

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Accepted in the past without controversy in a once largely ethnically homogeneous nation, today Zwarte Piet is somewhat controversial and is greeted with mixed reactions. Many see him as a cherished tradition and look forward to his annual appearance. Others detest him—perhaps most notably, some of the country's people of color. The lyrics of traditional Sinterklaas songs and some parents state that Zwarte Piet will leave well-behaved children presents, but that those who have been naughty will be punished. Zwarte Piet will kidnap bad children and carry them off to Spain in his bag, where, legend has it, he and Sinterklaas dwell out of season. As a result, while some children love him and are fascinated by him, other Dutch children are fearful of encounters with Zwarte Piet impersonators. Some white Dutch children believe their black classmates will grow up to be Zwarte Piet, and still others believe black people they meet in public are Zwarte Piet. Blackfaced, googly-eyed, red-lipped Zwarte Piet dolls, diecuts and displays adorn store windows alongside brightly displayed, smartly packaged holiday merchandise. Foreign tourists, particularly Americans, are often bewildered and mortified. As a result of the allegations of racism, some attempts have been made to replace the blackface makeup worn by Zwarte Piet impersonators with face paint in alternative colors such as green or purple. This practice, however, has not caught on. So, at least once a year in the Netherlands, the debate over the harmlessness, or racism, of Zwarte Piet resurfaces—along with, the usual, smiling golliwog dolls; strolling "Zwarte Pieten" tossing sweets to eager children and other passersby; and the sometimes jarring storefront-darky images.http://www.awfulgood.com/doa-archives/000212.php

Related Topics:
People of color - Spain

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The "coons" of Cape Town and Auckland

Inspired by blackface minstrels who visited Cape Town, South Africa, in 1848, former Javan and Malaysian slaves took up the minstrel tradition, holding emancipation celebrations which consisted of music, dancing and parades. In the African-American cakewalk tradition, their songs often parodied their former masters and the privileged, white class. Such celebrations eventually became consolidated into an annual, year-end event known as the Cape Coon Carnival.

Related Topics:
Cape Town - South Africa - 1848 - Javan - Malaysian - Cakewalk - Class

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Today, carnival minstrels are mostly Coloured ("mixed race"), Afrikaans-speaking revellers. Often in blackface, they parade down the streets of the city in colorful costumes, in a celebration of Creole culture. Participants also pay homage to the carnival's African-American roots, playing Negro spirituals and jazz featuring traditional Dixieland jazz instruments, including horns, banjos, and tambourines.http://www.africapetours.com/Coon%20Carnival.htm

Related Topics:
Coloured - Afrikaans - Creole - Negro spirituals - Jazz - Dixieland - Horns - Banjos - Tambourines

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The term "coon" has been appropriated by carnival participants over time, who don't regard it as a pejorative. However, the name was changed to the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival in 2003, so as to avoid offending tourists. Former South African president Nelson Mandela endorsed the carnival in 1986, and is a member of the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association, which presides over the event. Now officially more than a hundred years old, the carnival has become a major tourist attraction, vigorously promoted by the nation's tourism authority, complete with corporate sponsorship.

Related Topics:
Cape Town Minstrel Carnival - South African - Nelson Mandela - Corporate - Sponsorship

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A multi-ethnic group of New Zealanders, taking their cue from the Cape Town tradition, have started their own "Cape Coon troupe", calling themselves the "Auckland City Dukes". Wearing modified minstrel attire and pared down blackface makeup, the Dukes participate in the annual Cape Town Minstrel Carnival and enthusiastically embrace the "coon" moniker.

Related Topics:
New Zealanders - Auckland

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In the U.S.

The darky, or coon, archetype that blackface played such a profound role in creating remains a persistent thread in American culture. It continues to resurface. Animation utilizing darky iconography aired on U.S. television routinely as late as the mid-1990s, and still can be seen in specialty time slots on such networks as TCM. In 1993, white actor Ted Danson ignited a firestorm of controversy when he appeared at a Friars Club roast in blackface, delivering a risqué shtick written by his then love interest, African-American comedienne Whoopi Goldberg. Recently, gay, white performer Chuck Knipp, has used drag, blackface, and broad racial caricature while portraying a character named "Shirley Q. Liquor" in his cabaret act, generally performed for all-white audiences. Knipp's outrageously stereotypical character has drawn criticism and prompted demonstrations from black, gay and transgender activists. http://gaycitynews.com/gcn_308/blackfacedragagain.html

Related Topics:
Animation - 1990s - Networks - TCM - 1993 - Ted Danson - Friars Club - Roast - Shtick - Comedienne - Whoopi Goldberg - Gay - Chuck Knipp - Drag - Cabaret - Demonstrations - Transgender

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In New Orleans in the early 1900s, a group of African American laborers began a marching club in the annual Mardi Gras parade, dressed as hobos and calling themselves "The Tramps". Wanting a flashier look, they later renamed themselves "Zulus" and copied their costumes from a blackface vaudeville skit performed at a local black jazz club and cabaret.http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/News/Feature_Zulu_Blackface.htm The result is one of the best known and most striking krewes of Mardi Gras, the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. Dressed in grass skirts, top hats and exaggerated blackface, the Zulus of New Orleans are controversial as well as popular.

Related Topics:
New Orleans - Mardi Gras - Zulus - Krewes - Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club

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Illinois Congressman and House minority leader Bob Michel caused a minor stir in the early 1990s, when he fondly recalled minstrel shows in which he had participated as a young man and expressed his regret that they had fallen out of fashion.

Related Topics:
Illinois - Bob Michel

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Blackface and minstrelsy also serve as the theme of Spike Lee's film Bamboozled (2000). It tells of a black television executive who reintroduces the old blackface style and is horrified by its success.

Related Topics:
Spike Lee - Film - Bamboozled - 2000

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In 2002 and 2003, there were several inflammatory blackface "incidents" where white college students donned blackface as part of presumably innocent, but insensitive, gags—or as part of an acknowledged climate of racism and intolerance on campus. http://www.tolerance.org/search/query.html?col=test&qt=blackface&x=8&y=12~T Further, commodities bearing darky iconic images, from tableware, soap, and toy marbles to home accessories and T-shirts, continue to be manufactured and marketed in the U.S. and elsewhere. Some are reproductions of historical artifacts, while others are so-called "fantasy" items, newly designed and manufactured for the marketplace. There is a thriving niche market for such items in the U.S., particularly, as well as for original artifacts of darky iconography. The value of many vintage pieces has skyrocketed since the 1970s.

Related Topics:
2002 - 2003 - College - Artifacts - Niche market - 1970s

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