On 26 Oct 2001, at 22:48, Catherine McKay wrote: > > I've never understood the meaning of "Jim Crow". I > can tell by context, but does anyone have any idea how > the expression came about? Just curious and your > using the expression reminded me it was one of those > things I always wanted to ask, but never remember to! >
Jim Crow was a character created by the first white actor to wear blackface, Thomas Rice, who is credited with being the father of the minstrel show. He took the character from a description he heard in a slave song in which the singer jumps around and dances. Rice painted his face black with burnt cork and did an exaggerated song and dance number which was meant to mimic a slave and show him as a grinning, dancing fool. His act was very successful and he toured the country with it in the mid 19th century. The Jim Crow character became a staple in minstrel shows and the foundation from which he created other characters like Sambo and Dandies. >From its popularity in the minstrel shows, the term became popular as a racial slur meant to portray blacks as lazy, stupid and inferior. It was later adopted as a description for the post-Reconstruction segregation laws, social mores and intimidation practices which were in principle based on the idea that blacks were inferior to whites and thus the two groups should not mingle. C. Vann Woodwards' "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" is practically required reading if you desire to learn more about it. http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-0195146905-0 Hope that answer is not too long-winded! Brenda n.p.: Anita O'Day - "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"
