Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of Black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they were not yet identified with "coon" epithet. The genre became extremely popular, with white and Black men giving performances in blackface and making recordings. Women known as coon shouters also gained popularity in the genre.
Sheet music for "Coon, Coon, Coon", which bills itself as "The Most Successful Song Hit of 1901" with insert photo of minstrel show star Lew Dockstader in blackface
Sheet music to "Every Race Has a Flag But the Coon"
Sheet music to Ernest Hogan's "All Coons Look Alike to Me".
Sheet music to "Ma Honey Gal". Coon songs suggested that the most common living arrangement for Black people was a "honey" relationship (unmarried cohabitation), rather than marriage.
Stereotypes of African Americans
Stereotypes of African Americans are misleading beliefs about the culture of people with partial or total ancestry from any black racial groups of Africa whose ancestors resided in the United States since before 1865, largely connected to the racism and the discrimination to which African Americans are subjected. These beliefs date back to the slavery of black people during the colonial era and they have evolved within American society.
The cover of an 1832 edition of the sheet music of Jump Jim Crow, which depicts a stereotyped African-American who is named Jim Crow
Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843
This reproduction of a 1900 William H. West minstrel show poster, originally published by the Strobridge Litho Co., shows the transformation from "white" to "black."
Racist 1900s postcard, captioned: "Alligator bait, Florida"
