Subversions and Mixed Messages

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the minstrel tradition, although apparently racist, also provided a platform for African-American artists not only to launch themselves into careers in theatre that would otherwise have been closed to them, but also to use the form of the tradition for their own purposes. It looks at how through the integration of African-American musical traditions, the subtle alteration of minstrel imagery, and the addition of protest lyrics which brought issues of race to the forefront, these artists were able to subvert and transcend the very medium which had been created at their expense.

From the Paper:

"In an article entitled "The Influences of Nineteenth Century African American Music on the Popular Music of South Africa", Robbie Fry writes that "After the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 the number of black [minstrel] troupes grew rapidly. Their appeal was their 'authenticity,' which they promoted in advertisements and exploited in their performances. This authenticity drove the white performers out of the business and opened the doors for many African American musicians and actors" (Fry, 1). Their involvement in the heretofore whites only minstrel scene altered it drastically--and, in fact, they proceeded to use the genre, its images and its traditions for their own purposes, using the platform they were given by white audiences continuing to seek confirmation of the racial order they were so heavily invested in. While Fry admits that the draw of potential financial freedom, away from the harsh realities of plantation life, presented a powerful inducement to join in the minstrel tradition, he also insists that this was not simply a case of African American performers selling out, and giving their white audiences what they wanted. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fry, Robbie. "The Influences of Nineteenth Century African American Music on the Popular Music of South Africa" Black Praxis: African American Studies. 1.1 (May 2004) http://www.ohiou.edu/aas/blackpraxis/articles/robbie.html
• Hughes, Richard L. "Minstrel Music: The Sounds and Images of Race in Antebellum America" The History Teacher. 40.1 (November 2006) http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/40.1/hughes.html
• Smith, John. M "Jim Along Josey" (New York: Firth & Hall, 1841)http://levy-test.dkc.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=020.005.000;pages=3;range=0-2
• White, C. "Julianna Johnson" (New York: Firth & Hall, 1844) http://levy-test.dkc.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=020.013.000;pages=3;range=0-2
• Whitlock, William "Mary Blane" (New York: C.G. Christman, 1846) http://levy-test.dkc.jhu.edu/levy-cgi/display.cgi?id=020.035.000;pages=4;range=0-3

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