The American blackface minstrel show emerged in the 19th century as one of the most popular forms of American entertainment. These were variety shows, which evolved over time but typically contained multiple short musical and comedic acts. The characters were often played by white actors in blackface, portraying Black Americans in a racist and degrading manner. Due to the long-lasting popularity of such shows, many songs that originated in minstrelsy are still well-known today, although their past may not be universally recognized. One setting in which these songs can still be found is elementary music classrooms, which raises a number of questions on the appropriateness of teaching such songs to children. This project identifies songs in elementary music textbooks that were originally composed for blackface minstrel shows, including researching their particular histories and locating historical scores. The information discovered in this project will be made available on a website for teachers to reference. In the future, replacement song suggestions will be added to help teachers more easily remove and replace minstrel songs in their curriculum.
Blackface Minstrel Music in Elementary School Music Curriculums
Category
Music