Harvard Theatre Collection - Georgia Minstrels TCS 1

Brooker and Clayton's Georgia Minstrels was the first popular African American

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

minstrel troupe. The company was formed in 1865. Under the management of

Charles Hicks Charles Barney Hicks (? – 1902) was an American advance man, manager, performer, and owner of blackface minstrel troupes composed of African-American performers. Hicks himself was a minstrel performer who could sing and play challenging roles su ...

, the company enjoyed success on tour through the Northeastern United States in 1865 and 1866. They billed themselves as "The Only Simon Pure Negro Troupe in the World" and their act as an "authentic" portrayal of black plantation life. One ad claimed their troupe was "composed of men who during the war were SLAVES IN

MACON, GEORGIA Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, who, having spent their former lives in Bondage . . . will introduce to their patrons PLANTATION LIFE in all its phases." For their part, the public and press largely believed them. One

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

newspaper called them "great delineators of darky life" and said that they presented "peculiar music and characteristics of plantation life."21 October 1865. ''Clipper''. Quoted in Watkins 121. The Georgia Minstrels gained fame and success, and large crowds watched them perform in many cities. They repeatedly outperformed both black and white rivals throughout 1866. Trade journals and theatergoers came to regard them as in the same category as successful all-white companies, and "Georgia" came to signify "Colored" when used in the title of a minstrel troupe. Perhaps most significantly, the success of the Georgia Minstrels spawned many imitators. Other black troupes found greater success and acceptance, and black minstrelsy took off as a genre in its own right.

Notes

References

*Toll, Robert C. (1974). ''Blacking Up: The Minstrel Show in Nineteenth-century America''. New York: Oxford University Press. *Watkins, Mel (1994). ''On the Real Side: Laughing, Lying, and Signifying—The Underground Tradition of African-American Humor that Transformed American Culture, from Slavery to Richard Pryor.'' New York: Simon & Schuster. {{authority control 1865 establishments in the United States Blackface minstrel troupes American comedy troupes