Black (and "Blackface")
Celebrities
This small collection features images of some of
the more famous Black celebrities in the first half
of the 20th Century. Many Caucasian Americans formed
their impressions of Black people from such notables
as boxer Jack Johnson and actor Stepin' Fetchit, who
made a career for himself mastering the coon role in
films. Other Black celebrities weren't Black at all,
but White actors in "blackface," a makeup
made of burnt cork. For more on this phenomeon, see
the section on minstrel music and coon songs. |
