the black & white minstrel show

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It seems to be absurd to imagine that people who are not already racially prejudiced could possible be in the some way contaminated by the Minstrels. David Hendy, Professor of Media and Cultural History at the University of Sussex, comments that Barrie Thorne, the corporation's chief accountant, described the series in an internal memo to Director of Television Kenneth Adam in 1962 as being "a disgrace and an insult to coloured people". Forgive me for saying simply that I don't believe anything in your memo is half so relevant as the (to me) plain fact that wherever precisely the rights and wrongs might be in the matter in a community of infinitely greater kindness and consideration than, unfortunately, ours is, this protest as things are does much more harm than good. While it started off being broadcast in black and white, the show was first shown in colour on BBC2 in 1967. The Minstrels also had a theatrical show at the Victoria Palace Theatre, produced by Robert Luff, [4] which ran for 6,477 performances from 1962 to 1972, and established itself in The Guinness Book of Records as the stage show seen by the largest number of people.

IMPORTANT : Please note that we use third party images in most of our listings, so the image you see may not be of the actual item you are purchasing. On film, blacked up singers such as the American Al Jolson were popular with British audiences throughout the interwar period and the popularity of G.Stephen Murphy, Senior Programme Officer at the BBC’s competitor, ITV, also privately wrote to Lamb expressing his support, ‘blacking up is a theatrical convention so old that is has lost any derogatory meaning,’ and noting that CARD’s only contribution was ‘to create a racial issue where none exists’.

People who are already racially prejudiced are more likely to be exacerbated by the protest itself than the object of the protest. You can give your consent to the respective categories or select or deselect certain cookies and tools. The BBC might also ask the three American networks, since it is only a theatrical show, what reaction they think the series would have on responsible coloured opinion in the United States if they put it out coast to coast. The problem, he went on to explain, was that so many people were simply “unaware of the offence racial guying can cause”. CARD’s efforts to name both blacking up and The Black and White Minstrel Show as racist in 1967 marked a turning point, but not the one that West and his fellow signatories sought.However, the second part of the rationale put forward in 1967 – that blacking up was not about race – demands closer examination. Some have told me that they switch off the moment the show starts and then feel uncomfortable and miserable for the next 30 minutes. In the process, to the extent described in the privacy policy, your data may be transferred to the USA and processed there.

Subsequent efforts by the BBC to introduce the Mitchell Minstrels without blackface in two variety programmes failed, while blacking up and the Minstrels persisted on British screens well beyond 1967. The response Thorne received from the Chief Assistant, Oliver Whitley, was no doubt intended to come across as measured. Though any development in the performance of such acts may have ended before the First World War, the "old-time" minstrel theme remained a consistently popular form of entertainment in the UK well into the 1950s.Whitley responded: "The best advice that could be given to coloured people by their friends would be: 'On this issue, we can see your point, but in your own best interests, for heaven's sake, shut up. Prior to the creation of the television show in 1957, the BBC Television Toppers had performed on air since February 1953. No doubt you have read the press comment and you will be very welcome, if you wish to see but have not seen, to borrow from the Secretary or H. In July 2009, Henry explained that he was contractually obliged to perform and regretted his part in the show, [7] telling The Times in 2015 that his appearance on the show led to a profound "wormhole of depression", and that he regretted his family not intervening to prevent him from continuing in the show. It’s unlikely that what he had in mind was The Black and White Minstrel Show itself employing black British artistes.

In 1969, due to continuing accusations of racism, Music Music Music, a spin-off series in which the minstrels appeared without their blackface make-up, replaced The Black and White Minstrel Show. H. Elliott, singing in blackface, spawned so many imitators that he started referring to himself as ‘the original chocolate coloured coon’. One way of testing responsible opinion would be for the BBC to send the Black and White Minstrels book and the coloured Radio Times front cover of them to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Urban League, and ask for their opinion. The BBC1 television programme was cancelled in 1978 as part of a reduction in variety programming (by this point, the blackface element had been reduced), [18] while the stage show continued.The Black and White Minstrel Show was a British light entertainment show that ran on BBC television from 1958 to 1978 and was a popular stage show. Thorne’s 1962 memo had gone on to suggest that “If black faces are to be shown, for heaven’s sake let coloured artists be employed and with dignity”. We very believe in this project and we also believe that the Pet Therapy should be accessible free of charge. Among the various activities that we have planned for the biennium 2017/18, there is the Pet Therapy, for children and people with disabilities, but also for adults or older people who want to find an inner balance.