Are any of you old enough to remember black-and-white minstrel shows? Walt does! For those younger than dirt, the minstrel shows of yesteryear (they went out of fashion, victims of political correctness, in the 50s) were variety shows consisting of comic skits, jokes, dancing and music, performed by white people in blackface.
I can remember being taken to one by my mother -- a high-school teacher and therefore a Person of Good Standing in the Community -- when I was about 10 or 11 years old. The show was put on by the Lions Club of my small hometown. The MC, "Mister Interlocutor", was my best bud's father, "Invincible Vince".
I had a wonderful time laughing at the jokes and antics of Mr. Bones, Mr. Tambo and all the others. And it never once occurred to me that black people were somehow being made fun of or denigrated. Wikipedia: On the one hand, it [minstrelsy] had strong racist aspects; on the other, it afforded white Americans a singular and broad awareness of significant aspects of black-American culture.
Sadly, minstrel shows have gone the way of Amos 'n' Andy, victims of political correctness. Yet we had shows like Fresh Prince of Belair and the Jeffersons. Go figure.
Yet the idea donning blackface to do a little comedy seems to be making a bit of a comeback. Not long ago some contestants on a TV talent show had to apologize for appearing in blackface. And this week the University of Toronto Black Students Association is demanding public apologies from organizers of a Halloween party after participants wearing dark makeup were given a costume prize.
These terrible racists painted their faces with shoe polish to portray the Jamaican bobsled team, from the movie Cool Runnings, a comedy based on the Jamaican national bobsled team's debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
In addition to the four white students who dressed up as blacks, a Trinidadian student wore white makeup to portray the team's coach. The White Students Association has so far not filed a complaint. [White Students Association? Are you sure? ed.]
For the full story and a great picture, see the article in today's Globe and Mail.
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