Minstrel show
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A minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose o
Detail from cover of The Celebrated Negro Melodies, as Sung by the Virginia Minstrels, 1843
Thomas D. Rice from sheet music cover of "Sich a Getting Up Stairs", 1830s
Sheet music cover for "Dandy Jim from Caroline", featuring Dan Emmett (center) and the other Virginia Minstrels, c. 1844
Poster for Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels
Jump Jim Crow
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"Jump Jim Crow", often shortened to just "Jim Crow", is a song and dance from 1828 that was done in blackface by white minstrel performer Thomas D. Rice. The song is speculated to have been taken from
Minstrel show
…Forrest's impression was so good he could fool blacks when he mingled with them in the streets. Thomas Dartmouth Rice's successful song-and-dance number, "Jump Jim Crow", brought blackface performance to a new level of prominence in the early 1830s. At the height of Rice's success, The Boston Post wrote, "The two most…
Cover to an early edition sheet music by Thomas D. Rice, pictured here performing in black face at the Bowery Theatre, Manhattan, illustration by Edward Williams Clay, c. 1832