After the Minstrels Left Town
The year was 1832, and Thomas Dartmouth (“Daddy”) Rice was one of America’s hottest acts. His performance was not a spectacular one, nor was it entirely original; the material it was drawn from had already existed for a decade or so. Rice, however, added an odd little dance to it, and took on an old name that would resonate throughout America for more than a century. With burnt cork smeared across his face (save for a wide swath around his lips), Rice “Jumped Jim Crow” for an ecstatic audience in New York’s Bowery Theater. Thereafter, blackface minstrelsy blazed its way across American popular culture. Two years later another white performer by the name of George Washington Dixon took the stage in the persona of “Zip Coon," a dandified black “wise fool." For the next 70 years the minstrel show would be a predominant feature of the nation’s entertainment. It would also define and codify the role of blacks in an art form not yet invented -- the American animated cartoon.
The eye-rolling, wide-lipped coon came on to the animation scene along with India ink and rice paper. He did not leave for a very long time. In some cartoons his image was stereotyped to the point of reprehensibility; in other cartoons, such as Bob Clampett’s Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943), the stereotypical presentations existed alongside other codes and possible interpretations that are still being strenuously debated today. Whatever the case, every black character in cartoons, both male and female, was a direct descendant of Jim Crow, Zip Coon, and Old Aunt Jemima (who dates back to a blackface performance of 1889). Even much of the music that accompanied their on-screen appearances was originally composed by Stephen Foster, perhaps the greatest writer of minstrel songs that era had ever seen.
However, that’s not what we’re going to discuss. There have already been several masterful books written on the subject of racial stereotyping in film, animated cartoons, and radio. For this special piece to accompany the celebration of Black History Month, we will examine how the old stereotypes in American animated cartoons were replaced by positive, intelligent, even activist representations of African-Americans over time. This month we will look at who moved in to the animated world after the minstrels left town.
The first occupant was actually seen in an educational film sponsored by the UAW-CIO and produced by United Productions of America in 1946. Brotherhood of Man was a stylish animated short intended to help union members in the southern United States overcome their racial disharmonies and band together as brothers in labor. In this film, highly stylized but clearly identifiable members of each race learn that underneath their skins their only true differences lie in blood types. The message as delivered is somewhat simplistic, yet there is undeniable uplift in the short’s final scenes. Men of all races, liberated from prejudice, march off to work together as the narrator delivers a stirring speech about equal opportunities for all.
From 1950-80 it was evident that America was changing rapidly, and so were portrayals of African-Americans. Even cartoons, still considered by most critics to be a juvenile form of entertainment, were affected. During the 1960s the Civil Rights movement won significant victories under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the accordant political muscle of President Lyndon B. Johnson. It would no longer do to have African-Americans depicted as descendants of minstrel shows, and such images began to be excised from existing theatrical cartoons. It would also not do to have black characters as token sidekicks or peripheral hangers-on in television shows. Black characters would have to be co-stars at the least, with starring roles even more optimal.
It didn’t happen right away. Animated shows on television dated back to 1949, but it was not until 20 years later that the first African-American character made his appearance. Comedian Bill Cosby worked alongside animator Ken Mundie to bring his creation Fat Albert to life for the television special Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert! More would be heard from Cosby later, but in 1970 the first black cartoon star would premiere with an effort that paralleled the difficulties that African-Americans were facing in larger society.
Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera wanted to adapt the popular comic book Josie into a cartoon about a rock band. They also hoped to form a live rock band that would sell hit songs from the show. La La Productions, run by Danny Janssen and Bobby Young, were in charge of the recordings. They held a contest in order to find singers who resembled the girls, but after they did, there was a slight problem. In the comic books, Valerie Brown was a beautiful black woman, but H-B reportedly wanted an all-white trio. Janssen battled the studio until he won; Valerie (and her singing voice, Patrice Holloway) was the first black cartoon star. A smart, talented, and level-headed counterpoint to ditzy Melody, Valerie Brown refuted every cartoon stereotype about blacks that theatrical cartoons had perpetuated for decades.
Printer-friendly version
Post new comment