AFRICAN AMERICAN THEATRE HISTORY
- From It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Did not make fun of black culture in the episode
- Merely blackfaced to portray Lethal Weapon franchise
- Paula Deen’s new show advertisement
- Her brother has brown sugar on his face
- Snoop Dogg’s character “Todd”
- Advertised whiteguysconnect.com
- Mocked White people
- Halloween costume
- Depicting “gangsters”
- Halloween Costume
- Imitating Kanye West
By: Curt Baroussse, Z'Noah Broyard, Jordan Scott, Christianne Windfield
African American History
- The Harlem Renaissance was a phase of a larger New Negro movement that had emerged in the early 20th century and in some ways ushered in the civil rights movement of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Mulatto
- The first black Broadway hit play
- Written by one of the most successful black authors of the time, Langston Hughes
- It is about a white plantation owner, Colonel Thomas Norwood, and his mulatto son, Robert.
- It looks at America racism and used the rise Hitler as a backdrop to depict worldwide racism.
- It is often cited by critics for it's autobiographical influence
- Hughes received backlash for his use of black stereotypes in the play and hks others.
A Raisin in the Sun
- Inspired by Hughes’s poem “Harlem”
- The first play by a black women to be on Broadway
- Tells the story of a black family and their experiences living in Chicago
- They seek to better themselves and the father, Walter, sees wealth as a way to ascend
- He also feels he needs to get rid of his African heritage which he associates with poverty and assimilate to into white culture to gain wealth
- The play received critical acclaim and was named best play of 1960
Blackface
- A racist form of theatre aimed and centered around black culture
- This “artform” showed ignorance and depicted pure stereotypes of black culture
- These shows endured for over 100 years and insured a unique longevity of black stereotypes in America
- All these performers did was stand on stage mocking the black community depicting the “happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation” and the “dandified coon”
- Often considered to be the first true form of America theatre
- Incorporated many aspects of blackface performance
- Black people used for humor and often made to be childlike and foolish
- Made for the common people who would not attend Broadway Performance
Costumes
- Included over-exaggerated and flashy outfits
- These would include large clothing, flashy colors, and of course the unforgettable makeup
- Costumes were often made by the actors
- They would include clothing for the time and specific clothes for the role
- There were no customary costumes as were seen in the minstrel shows
Make up
- Exaggerated features such as large lips, extremely dark faces, and very bright eyes
Is Blackface over?
- The Civil Rights Movement put an official end to this “artform” in the 1960s
- Popular use of this theatre type has gone almost completely out of style
- There are a surprising amount of instances that take place to this day
- Television shows, costumes, and even seemingly innocent pictures still offend many people with the subtle use of blackface
Historical Moment
In Black History
Harlem Renaissance: 1920's-1930
-Also known as "The New Negro Movement"
-A cultural movement
-Harlem became home to many middle class African Americans and continued to grow rapidly.
-The rapid growth of African Americans allowed for white theatre producers to recognize the talent they had to offer.
-This was the time when African American theatre flourished.