full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Dwan Reece: The origins of blackface and Black stereotypes

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Ironically, after the Civil War, African Americans forged their own careers on the professional stage. The route to success often meant appropriating the mask that was used to mock them. whtie audiences also embraced Black permcofanre in their local communities. These amuater mieltsrns used instructional guides that provided them with jokes, routines, songs and costumes they needed to put on their own shows. Such was the habit of piitanilcos, fraternal orders, colleges, high schools and community performances, who carried on this tairotdin well into the 20th century.

The professional minstrel show left an indelible imprint on the American psyche. The images and ricaal stereotypes that continue to cluitarce in aericamn society on sheet music, magazines, books, vaudeville, tetaehr, film, television, raido, reocrds and all kinds of formats. These stereotypes were a powerful reinforcement of the ideas of white supremacy and Black inferiority.

Open Cloze


Ironically, after the Civil War, African Americans forged their own careers on the professional stage. The route to success often meant appropriating the mask that was used to mock them. _____ audiences also embraced Black ___________ in their local communities. These _______ _________ used instructional guides that provided them with jokes, routines, songs and costumes they needed to put on their own shows. Such was the habit of ___________, fraternal orders, colleges, high schools and community performances, who carried on this _________ well into the 20th century.

The professional minstrel show left an indelible imprint on the American psyche. The images and ______ stereotypes that continue to _________ in ________ society on sheet music, magazines, books, vaudeville, _______, film, television, _____, _______ and all kinds of formats. These stereotypes were a powerful reinforcement of the ideas of white supremacy and Black inferiority.

Solution


  1. amateur
  2. racial
  3. tradition
  4. performance
  5. minstrels
  6. theater
  7. american
  8. radio
  9. white
  10. records
  11. circulate
  12. politicians

Original Text


Ironically, after the Civil War, African Americans forged their own careers on the professional stage. The route to success often meant appropriating the mask that was used to mock them. White audiences also embraced Black performance in their local communities. These amateur minstrels used instructional guides that provided them with jokes, routines, songs and costumes they needed to put on their own shows. Such was the habit of politicians, fraternal orders, colleges, high schools and community performances, who carried on this tradition well into the 20th century.

The professional minstrel show left an indelible imprint on the American psyche. The images and racial stereotypes that continue to circulate in American society on sheet music, magazines, books, vaudeville, theater, film, television, radio, records and all kinds of formats. These stereotypes were a powerful reinforcement of the ideas of white supremacy and Black inferiority.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
blackface minstrelsy 7
african americans 2
minstrel show 2
white audiences 2


Important Words


  1. african
  2. amateur
  3. american
  4. americans
  5. appropriating
  6. audiences
  7. black
  8. books
  9. careers
  10. carried
  11. century
  12. circulate
  13. civil
  14. colleges
  15. communities
  16. community
  17. continue
  18. costumes
  19. embraced
  20. film
  21. forged
  22. formats
  23. fraternal
  24. guides
  25. habit
  26. high
  27. ideas
  28. images
  29. imprint
  30. indelible
  31. inferiority
  32. instructional
  33. ironically
  34. jokes
  35. kinds
  36. left
  37. local
  38. magazines
  39. mask
  40. meant
  41. minstrel
  42. minstrels
  43. mock
  44. music
  45. needed
  46. orders
  47. performance
  48. performances
  49. politicians
  50. powerful
  51. professional
  52. psyche
  53. put
  54. racial
  55. radio
  56. records
  57. reinforcement
  58. route
  59. routines
  60. schools
  61. sheet
  62. show
  63. shows
  64. society
  65. songs
  66. stage
  67. stereotypes
  68. success
  69. supremacy
  70. television
  71. theater
  72. tradition
  73. vaudeville
  74. war
  75. white