Christy's Minstrels in Blackface - Part 1

[@HatersG0nHate]

This is peak entertainment. Imagine having the privilege of seeing this live!

[@michaelbaxter8963]

Bro.. this is a racist show

[@robkunkel8833]

Reading about minstrelsy, this format with the two jokesters on the extreme left and right was being done since before the 1850s. Usually, in a small show, there would only be four main entertainers, with the outside left on tambourine and the outside right with bones. The less loud and gregarious characters on stage were the fiddle and the banjo in the middle.

[@grahamherbert3612]

I used to regularly do an 'Ethiopian Serenader' show for the seniors at a local old folks home, they loved to sing and dance along while I sung. I was only six years old when I started.

[@bettyottman1718]

People miss the old Days when they love the Blackface Minstrels and Lovable Golliwog dolls.

[@grahamherbert3612]

@@bettyottman1718 My adopted Grandmother made me the costume and applied the make up for me, she was a wonderful old Creole Lady. Although initially our family cook, on her official retirement, she had no other living family or home, so she simply stayed with us, and spent her twilight years sketching, fishing, and gardening. She passed away in 1994, I still miss her very much.

[@mr.fahrenheit7009]

Pretty cool

[@ShinyFlakesShinyFlakes]

Is your name Stephen Foster?

[@crunchnmunchsweettreats]

Sad…

[@rickyrydell]

That is the darkest shade of blackface I've ever seen, and I've seen Jimmy Kimmel, Ted Danson, Howard Stern, and Justin Trudeau in blackface!

[@Johnny2-r1l]

Look here I do know they we’re doing black face, but I like the music because it’s entertaining to listen.

[@jasonbender2459]

Camp Town Races is the best!!

[@derdude1491]

stop being a cuck and just enjoy it

[@JoeLibby]

Ray Middleton may be familiar to some from his Broadway credits, including ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and MAN OF LA MANCHA.

[@stumarston6812]

I'm confusing him with someone else. I thought I saw him in Seattle Bareback Boys.

[@andrewinman1687]

Notice how the two men arguing intentionally try to sound unintelligent? People used to dress up in black face and perform like that in towns with people that never saw a black man. The goal was to make those people think black people were that ignorant so that they would treat them as inferior. The white man sits in the center in white clothes like a king among ignorant servants. He's supposed to be the only one with intelligent things to say and the only one with true talent. That's why it's offensive. It was meant to produce a negative stereotype about black people.

[@andrewinman1687]

@@rchman100 Any man desperate to intimidate others into accepting their beliefs will always resort to derogatory accusations. These are the people without any intelligence behind their arguments.

[@vondernacht]

Thanks Dad

[@danielthoman7324]

get over it!

[@andrewinman1687]

@@danielthoman7324 Didn't attack anyone. Just stated a fact. Do what you will with it.

[@rossconnolly1428]

it's called a stereotype and it was for comedy

[@TheMostSlyFox]

I need to find the copy of ring the banjo from this film on record

[@pincksugar]

I almost choked on my water when he said "still longin' for the old plantation" 3:22. Had to watch this for an assignment and was not expecting that, I should've expected that though from the time period.

[@Lumotaku]

The song was written before the civil war. Its about a slave that longs for his youth.

[@Josue-mv2fo]

@@Lumotaku even then, it's not like they had a good life post CW, since reconstruction failed in many areas, and the introduction of Jim Crow that came later, so this longing can just be reminiscence of "simpler times"

[@kalebnbrown]

I hope record companies that produce rap music are paying royalties to Christy's Minstrels for the 21st century minstrel show that rap music is.

[@vondernacht]

This is true. We don't need a minstrel revival these days. We have 10 times the bafoonery now.

[@trueKENTUCKY]

😮

[@rayw-martinez3555]

You are stupid.

[@jimjam51075]

There is no need for royalties. Ice Cube confirmed the entire thing is encouraged and coordinated by the Company Inside America.

[@generalfluffyproto]

Those kids got a free show i wish i thought of something like that.

[@aivarsnorenbergs477]

Very beautiful performance!

[@rayw-martinez3555]

OF COURSE IT WAS FOR YOU,

[@generalfluffyproto]

I would pay to see the show

[@user-io3th6lo9t]

We still have minstrel shows today it's called gangster rap.

[@dananmckie9253]

I’m coloured and I do not see this as racist or racially motivated I see this as entertainment and it shows black people as very good entertainers.

[@hisbeautifultruth5931]

OMG! 😂 Which color on the colored spectrum are you?

[@dananmckie9253]

@@hisbeautifultruth5931 is it wrong especially seeing how this happened many many years ago And I'm half cast And proud

[@hisbeautifultruth5931]

@@dananmckie9253 - Oh, so time determines morality? Was internment of Japanese-Americans during ww2 right or wrong? Is that a viable option today considering so much time has expired?

[@danielthoman7324]

I am also "coloured" and I love the show. if you don't like it that's too bad. 😠

[@chrishansen2100]

@@danielthoman7324 It means he is a mixed raced South African hot-not.

[@jeigheff]

Pray tell , what movie is this?

[@haileyshannon7548]

+jeigheff It's called I Dream of Jeannie (no relation to the TV show)

[@asdesrety]

Прикол в том что это шоу изпользоволась ище с 1850-х и 1952-х я в это веру

[@timtoner1411]

Minstrels were a product of their times. And those times are long gone. But an amazing amount of good music came out of these shows. It was the first big organized entertainment for the masses. These shows became wildly popular in the USA & the United Kingdom & allowed popular song writers to make a living off their newly copyrighted songs. It was also the 1st example of cross-over music in popular music. So, some good did come out of this type of entertainment.

[@maijennasis]

y’all are sick

[@sawfingers1750]

@@maijennasis you mean, you are sick?

[@lawrencelanier7585]

@@maijennasis I think @TimToner was referring to Stephen Foster without naming him. Basically the guy who started the American songbook.

[@FunkyMonkeyInTheTrunky]

@@maijennasis Shut up dirty, there were numerous examples of phenomenal music in Black face

[@Deontjie]

Still popular by all races in Cape Town.

[@PeterBeickert-kv8ui]

This is great entertainment ❤

[@robertdipaola3447]

Beautiful performance, great entertainment

[@jamesbyersmusic]

Jolson did a much better job as Christie!

[@millermark445]

He sure did. Jolson made this guy look like an amateur.

[@gailcrowe727]

Patrick Hall. Don’t be so silly, it was just a show.

[@fl8281]

Sometimes I thought back about this kind of vintage videos like this. Does the men who did this ever feel a bit ashamed that they have to get their face painted and then have to performed on crowd and also recorded on film. Also would it be mindblowing if some of these men were actually black people but also gets their faces painted black aswell? Im just curious that's all

[@rodterrell304]

Well it was actually entertaining! better than most shows today....except for the black face! Not bad!

[@neilbaker8801]

AL JOLSON SHOULD HAVE PLAYED EP CHRISTY.

[@mrstacker1430]

He did.

[@stickerino]

Swanee River, '39

[@seanmaher3518]

He died in 1950, so he couldn't in this film

[@7531monkey]

Hes too busy burning in hell.

[@saucejohnson9862]

That kid probably died in Nam if you think about it..

[@johnwaffleh2p70]

Xor rd what are you referring to

[@jose5776381]

I didn't know the director of the fbi was in this one

[@TalismanHunter]

I live in Pittsburgh and I believe this is a great tribute to Stephen Foster and his exceptional music for the time period. People have to realize that Stephen Foster joined these Minstrel Shows not to poke fun at the black/slave community of the South, but to shed light on their culture. Christy's Minstrel shows were actually one of the nicest of the time period and were aimed more towards middle-class America, rather than the ignorant poor. He wrote this songs to unite cultures through music, not to be racist.

[@we-qs2vd]

Brad Campbell you’re so unbelievably wrong it’s scary.

[@margueriteduras1657]

@@we-qs2vd It's not his fault. It's the twisted gene...Ask Dick Cheney.

[@abelgarcia9553]

I mean he came from a family that was opposed to the abolition of slavery.. but aight :/

[@rwmartinez1262]

keep telling yourself that horseshit.

[@sawfingers1750]

@@we-qs2vd why don’t you say why instead of the disparaging comment.

[@robbywilshire]

Sad they changed the words

[@jeigheff]

Excellent!

[@sparkles6274]

You must be high- 😟

[@robertbertagna1672]

great songs of the old south god bless.

[@McBooker]

The Second Song is in a Mario Game I'm glad this video is up here wouldn't have known about this!

[@7531monkey]

You really thought that was a vidro game song? Lol.

[@McBooker]

@@7531monkey look at dance dance revolution mario mix. The songs called "swanee river" and they did a remix to it...

[@McBooker]

@@7531monkey Or to make it easier "frozen pipe song" dance dance revolution mario mix and it's a remix to "Old folks at home" aka swanne river. Also its Floridas theme song when they swear in an elected official...

[@MrUranium238]

It's part of our cultural heritage, like it or not

[@margueriteduras1657]

Is that an excuse? What about today's Germans and their nazi ancestors?

[@Duvmasta]

Marguerite Duras I agree with you

[@kRod200]

zerx harris the Americans made fun of everyone in film at this time blacks,natives,Italians,Germans,Russians, British, Japanese,certain groups of whites as well so yeah making fun of others in film is definitely a part of American culture. Film mockery was not only for black people

[@MrUranium238]

@zerx harris not defending, just embrace , and accept it.. it is who we are... no one should feel shame ,embarrassment or guilt. because of the past...……... now you hopefully understand

[@MrUranium238]

@zerx harris don't have time to get into a long debate here … so I'll clarify what I meant ….. "It's part of our cultural heritage, like it or not" ... I said "OR NOT" now I must take my meds

[@telboyjack100]

I'm a black man but I identify as white so if I 'white' up would that mean I'm racist? Oh dear, it's so confusing, mercy me.

[@YokozunaNumber1]

Uh-huh, sure you are.

[@brodiapunch]

I believe you because no one dares to lie on the Internet

[@BillBraz-b9o]

A menstrual show Archie Bunker

[@henryratajczak7806]

WE NEED TO REINSTATE THE MINSTREL SHOWS!!!!😂

[@MrHeesbeen]

In the UK, we have men who entertain by dressing up as women. Some have a glamorous character, while some are plain ugly. This did not happen 60 or more years ago, but is happening now in the 21st century. Yet nobody says that they are insulting to the fairer sex, it is classed as what it is intended to be - purely entertainment. Why then, is minstrelcy demonised ?

[@ikachina]

Because there is 400 years of slavery and oppression associated with it

[@sparkles6274]

Did you really take the time out to read your question before asking- 🧍

[@exandious867]

@@ikachina how do you calculate 400 years? lol

[@ikachina]

@@exandious867 -- In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. 2022 - 1619 = 403.

[@s5zi9e]

Thinking how China still be able to make these kind off things for entertainments and Americans still crying about things like these, harsh reality

[@renapoole7742]

Can somebody tell me what the point of this is? Why not just get Black people to play the part?💁🏾‍♀️

[@ikachina]

It's about nostalgia for the "good old days" - for white people. Blackface began during a time (early 1800s) when blacks weren't allowed on stage. White men took black slave music and culture and turned it into a bunch of racist stereotypes, and it became so popular that it morphed into a cultural tradition that continues today -- for white people.

[@johnwaffleh2p70]

This is very entertaining

[@zaftra]

it's annoyingly entertaining.

[@patrickhall6831]

The fact ppl are saying this is ok. Btw the only reason I'm watching this is to do research. But for real this is sickening to watch

[@danielthoman7324]

I think rap groups are sickening. they portray black people as the worst types of people you'd ever want to know. always downgrading. 😧

[@Moonshine54321]

How about black women dying their hair blond? * checkmate*

[@Lumotaku]

Am i racist for liking this I dont care this is fun.

[@WilliamCreator57]

Is this Al Jolson?

[@tellcolombo8549]

No, it's Ray Middleton.

[@paolonove65]

Great Stephen Foster !

[@tkeforever4809]

paolonove65 -Racist as hell!!!

[@EricBrownBey]

@@tkeforever4809 he wasn’t racist

[@TheMabes69]

The white people @ 5:19 whistling along like everything's cool...jfc!!!

[@markfrost7986]

Very good singing i liked the banjos they played and i like the second song

[@brittp105]

its all fun and jokes until other people put on thin lips, red skin, and long chins (:

[@sonicsabbath]

Eminem?

[@asanteamin9321]

😭😭😭😭😭

[@JoshuaDillonn]

comment doesnt make sense.

[@whatever1661]

You got a point. While i think we tend to be a little too sensitive nowadays. I can't understand how anyone could defend something like this.

[@tyronedavid8780]

How awful to see this Im speechless and hurt altogether.

[@bettyottman1718]

I think it's Beautiful and Hilarious.

[@liamo.1451]

@@bettyottman1718 agreed

[@nova9928]

@@bettyottman1718 how it’s literal racism

[@bettyottman1718]

@@nova9928 No Offense.

[@Bbhamadama888]

@@nova9928 believe it or not, this was perfectly normal back in the day. Not saying I don’t condone this, but this was perfectly fine, hell this was a popular genre in the 40s.

[@j.4332]

brilliant why cant we still have minstrels?

[@anumiller7140]

B.L.M.would be proud

[@user-dl7cx3tt5y]

quite the opposite

[@sparkles6274]

Sorry buddy, I think we both have different ideas on what BLM means 😀

[@Graytail]

@@freebidou Thats just brit rap isnt it?

[@hisbeautifultruth5931]

This is one of the seeds that birthed BLM. But some will never get it.

[@robertbertagna1672]

they do not make music like that any more old americana to bad

[@toaster2428]

Justin Trudeau

[@terrencegurnee3166]

love it! but then i am 78 years old!

[@eaqua56]

And racist

[@jeigheff]

Never mind, got it!

[@mrnemesisis9112]

Who him, he good

[@hunterluxton5976]

Wonderful to those black gentlemen sing.

[@TheShindlandUnion1880]

Now don't take this to heart but because this form of theaters is a big part of america history thay should bring it back but if you'll get amended by it just don't come

[@plarnston]

I find it unfortunate how the second song is something I would genuinely listen to. It disturbs me when I listen to older music from these times made by white people, because I know they were likely racists whose morals I would find abhorrent. It also pains me to think that this sort of thing was taking place in the same time period as a quartet like the Ink Spots, who are a beautiful band made up of black American men. To put their music out there, including videos, at the same time of this disgusting mockery of their people and appearance, is brave and commendable, but unfortunate all the same.

[@sunnyvasic]

The banjos was an African American instrument brought over in slavery times in North America made of goat skin...learned by white southern Appalachian folks to i corporate in their repertoire

[@pavlelomidze1188]

why dont they make these today

[@hisbeautifultruth5931]

Why dont you start a troupe? Or perhaps we could dress people in stringy, greasy blond wings and overalls and call them the Carolina Lice Backs. They could sing songs about their Uncle Grandpas. Hilarious, no?

[@tkeforever4809]

Great God almighty! Is this real?

[@sashanejay]

Smh. I cant believe this either

[@kRod200]

Sashane J you can’t believe that blackface was normal back in those days?

[@MrUranium238]

I know,, this is gold

[@tamaratembo5918]

Your sick

[@lawrencelanier7585]

The movie is "I Dream of Jeanie" 1952. The opening scene actually contextualizes Stephen Foster's life really well.

[@liamo.1451]

I was born in the wrong generation

[@joey-sb3wd]

i've been watching these for about 2 hours for a research project, and i'm in tears. these forms of "entertainment" are some of the most disgusting things i've seen in my entire life. it makes me sick to my stomach that people found this funny in any way. blackface is some of the most degrading and dehumanizing things i've seen in my whole life.

[@G1CAAAAEO]

Do you want some tissues with that liberal virtue signalling of yours?

[@joey-sb3wd]

Avced LMAO IM NOT EVEN A LIBERAL

[@joey-sb3wd]

Avced im not a liberal i just believe in human rights

[@alexabarragan9230]

It’s sad to see that people became a spectacle for entertainment solely because the color of their skin. White people then didn’t laugh with black people it was more of white people laughing at black people and of course that kind of entertainment made easy money. This is entertainment is only for ignorant people and a sad documentation of dehumanizing people of color for those who actually see that this is wrong.

[@G1CAAAAEO]

@@alexabarragan9230 If people were truly racist then they wouldn't even want to see wannabe blacks and just watch other whites without dressing up like the blacks. It's good entertainment even though it's not 100% 'correct' according to a liberal viewpoint. But nothing can be 100% correct. I hope you can cope with this and continue with your life.

[@GeorgeJansen]

And then they stole hip hop... Got dammit

[@trionabyrne217]

In the old years, black or brown and white people shouldn't be friends. Some Nasty people think brown and white people shouldn't be friends thinking it drive them nuts!

[@vondernacht]

Yeah. Black people totally invented rhyming.

[@vondernacht]

Better times!

[@trkdigital5685]

unfuking believable that they called this entertainment at sum point

[@danielthoman7324]

it's creepy.

[@generalfluffyproto]

It was a minstrel show It was entertaining in a time before radio and television

[@takfam07]

Can't tell if it's racism...or damn good entertainment. I bet most of those stage characters in blackface-- are actual blacks. It was work, and they got paid better than pushing broom.

[@garx1a]

Christy's Minstrels were a blackface group of all white men. This is 100% racism, not entertainment.

[@takfam07]

@@garx1a Not only was it highly entertaining, the Christy Minstrels were incredibly popular for a very long time. The group lasted through many iterations for nearly 150 years, and they probably had black extras in blackface as well. They later became the "New Christy Minstrels" (although they did not perform in blackface), with their early-'70s pop hit "I'd Love To Teach the World to Sing" (the Coca-Cola theme). What we love to virtue-signal as "racism" today, was not perceived as such back in the day. And that's all that really matters.

[@garx1a]

@@takfam07 Racism is racism regardless of what time period it was happening; regardless of how common and normalized it was. That's not virtue signaling, it's quite literally a fact. While the more contemporary troupe didn't use blackface, this era of it did, and there is no denying when and why blackface was used; to reduce black people to caricatures and lampoon them. That undermines any semblance of entertainment.

[@kRod200]

It’s both

[@takfam07]

@@garx1a But the point you're missing is that they lampooned and caricatured everybody; every type. Not only blacks. If it were ONLY blacks, then that would be one thing. But they lampooned Japanese, Chinese, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Hispanics, East Indians, White Hillbillies, and especially European ethnic groups. And they "lampooned and caricatured" what they saw in each group. Which is what the audience saw in every day life, as well. That's what made it entertainment. That's what made it FUNNY.

[@krazykatty2.088]

These comments are sick and unreal. No wonder why America is so messed up smh.

[@nielszindel1151]

Women feel the same way about drag. Delia Morris

[@billyb6001]

This has to be the squarest thing I've seen in my life

[@davewilliams5102]

Billy b I have a dumber thing for you: Go look in the mirror.

[@billyb6001]

@@davewilliams5102 sick burn bro

[@playboyjamz3175]

@@davewilliams5102 I hope u suffer✨

[@danboyle116]

Oh, christ! Could that even be any worse?

[@MrUnidyne]

Yes, this was an established form of entertainment. There were often African-Americans performing in Minstrel shows...in Blackface. That's right. Black men imitating White men imitating Black men.

[@7531monkey]

This would be the USA now if Trump had a second term.

[@sawfingers1750]

What a profoundly ignorant comment

[@hisbeautifultruth5931]

No, it wouldnt....

[@generalfluffyproto]

Ignorance u r