Why did minstrel shows end

It may seem strange and ironic that abolitionists helped popularize blackface performance and black stereotypes, but minstrelsy tapped into a much wider audience than anti-slavery pamphlets, books, or speeches. Abolitionists on both sides of the Atlantic seized upon this new format, including burnt-cork blackface, to promote the end of slavery.

Part of the draw of minstrel shows was the opportunity for white urban audiences to get a glimpse of purportedly genuine African American life, behavior, singing and dancing that took place on rural plantations. Songs supporting abolition emphasized the suffering of slaves rather than contentment on the plantation. Its stage-show spin-offs were breaking box-office records. At one point, it was even something of a critical success: in , it won the prestigious Golden Rose of Montreux.

In May , for instance, the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination submitted a petition calling for the show to be axed. There was at least one determined voice of opposition within the BBC.

The current protest has renewed the passions. The BBC says that the Black and White Minstrels is "a traditional show enjoyed by millions for what it offers in good-hearted family entertainment". I think it was George Melly's comment that the same was said of throwing Christians to the lions. Many regard the show as Uncle Tom from start to finish, and as such in underlyingly offensive to many no matter what the outward gloss and size of the audience prove to the contrary.

The BBC might also ask the three American networks, since it is only a theatrical show, what reaction they think the series would have on responsible coloured opinion in the United States if they put it out coast to coast. Trite as it was, America, Be Seated! The musical was the brainchild of Mike Todd, Jr. Todd Jr. We were unable to locate any images of the show. Between verses, the interlocutor Ronny Graham downplayed the issue:.

Now, somebody said our minstrel show should not be done for sport. To invoke minstrelsy was to invoke race and, in , racial strife. President Lyndon B. They were directed not at the Fair but at the American public. Of the demonstrators, less than half were arrested, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct that were later dropped, and seven people sustained minor injuries. Both sides were eager to avoid the violence that continued to rage in the South.