Minstrel Shows in Old Time Radio

Few can argue that the gift of American Democracy and the enlightened spirit that inspired documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States is the foundation which helped America to become a leader of the free peoples of the world. American Democracy is far from perfect, which may be best exemplified by the Founding Father's failure to effectively deal with "the Peculiar Institution" of slavery. Although slavery has been abolished for a century and a half, the Peculiar Institution is part and parcel to the divisiveness which infects and defines American politics to this day, and, to a large extent, society itself.

One manifestation of the Peculiar Institution was the minstrel show. Like so many things, reaction to the minstrel show depends greatly upon perspective. Minstrelsy is considered the first truly American form of entertainment, and as such provides the forms and traditions which would eventually form vaudeville, the musical revue, American drama and Musical theater, and ultimately the Hollywood movies and TV shows which shape and inform the rest of the world's opinion of American culture. However, the basis of minstrelsy is perpetuating the myth of the carefree life of slaves living on their "massah's" plantation. Slavery was far from a benevolent institution, human bondage in any form will only diminish and dehumanize not only its victims but those who enforce its practice.

As insidious and horrific as slavery was, the forms of minstrelsy can be evaluated as curious entertainment, perhaps even seen as quaint. Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice in 1828 is credited as the first performer to don blackface in a New York theater to create the character of Jim Crow. The character was based on a folksy trickster who colored the oral traditions which slaves passed down. Jim Crow may have had many of the characteristics of Coyote for the Native North American Indians. Rice's act became a sensation and he gained notoriety and wealth performing it throughout America and England.

Success in any form of entertainment inevitably leads to imitation. By 1842, Daniel Decatur Emmett and some companions put together a routine of singing and dancing accompanied by fiddle, banjo, tambourines, and "bones" (castanets). Calling themselves "The Virginia Minstrels", Emmett's group was also imitated, in 1844 a troupe called The Ethiopian Serenaders were performing at the White House.

Along with Jim Crow, typical minstrel show characters included Sambo, a good looking and strong youth who is anxious to please his "massah"; Zip Coon, a freed slave who notably "puts on airs" above his station; and "Tom" based on the character from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel.

As hurtful as the Peculiar Institution was to everyone it touched, a case can be made that minstrelsy was a form of the ethnic humor which has long been a part of American comedy. Dialect humor has largely fallen out of favor but was a huge part of vaudeville. Making fun of the accents and mannerisms of Irish, Italians, Eastern European Jews, and Mexicans helped those groups to integrate into the melting pot of American society. One of the major objections to black-face performers such as radio's Amos 'n' Andy was that white comics were getting jobs that should have gone to African-American actors. When Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll created Amos 'n' Andy, blacks would have been prohibited from working in radio, but as the show expanded in later years they brought in African American players to fill supporting roles.

Although minstrel shows are worthy of study and can even be considered enjoyable entertainment, it should noted that the form did not disappear until the second half of the Twentieth century. At that point,
African American's began to gain a little bit of political power, and minstrelsy almost immediately fell from favor. This, more than anything, is telling of how offensive the form is to those it belittled.

Included in this compilation are series:

• Minstrel Shows: Rare and Guest Apperances (various)
• Sam and Henry (1926-1927)
• Two Black Crows (1920's-1930s)
• Amos n Andy Show (1928 -1956)
• Singin' Sam (1930s-1942)
• The Johnson Family (1934-1950)
• Pick and Pat (1937-1944)
• Aunt Jemima (1943)
• Beulah (1945-54)
• Southland Echoes (1949)
• Amos n Andy Music Hall (1955-1960)

See also: History of Minstrel Shows Article, Civil Rights, Racism, Discrimination, and Prejudice in Old Time Radio, KKK in Old Time Radio, Superman Fights the KKK, People Take the Lead, Destination Freedom, Racist Music, Former Slave Interviews, A New World A-Coming, and Minstrel Shows and radio personalities: Al Jolson, Ethel Waters, Marian Anderson, and Paul Robeson.