Hello everyone! Probably all of you know or have a little idea about what the Jim Crow Laws were, but one of the things you all are wondering about is, why are they called Jim Crow? Who was Jim Crow? What did he do? And perhaps some similar questions about its origin which I’m planning to answer in this post.
The main origin of
Jim Crow roots in African culture. People believed in mythical creatures and magic
and so they did in Jim, an African Trickster, a shape-shifter actually, who was
most of the time transformed as a crow.
But, how does this
legend became famous in American culture? Well, the answer is due to a song
called “Jump Jim Crow”, but the song did not become famous by itself. In the 19th
century, in America, the song and dance minstrel acts were very popular and
they were the main entertain in those years too. In addition, one of the most
famous acts in those years was Thomas D. Rice show; he was better known as
Daddy Rice and he became famous thanks to the Jump Jim Crow song.
Daddy Rice was a white man who played the Jim Crow
character in his shows. He prepared for his act blackening his skin by applying
burnt cork, wearing tattered clothes and finally, he performed his act
featuring the Jump Jim Crow song. His performance was a sensation and became
extremely famous across America and England. He became so famous that the
Boston Post reported in 1838 that “the two most popular characters in the world
at the present time are [Queen] Victoria and Jim Crow."
This name became so
famous that it transformed to a derogatory nickname along with other sorts of
insults to African American people. Eventually, in 1880’s, society related
this name to the new laws implemented in America; that’s how they became the
Jim Crow laws.
Regarding everything i've said, i believe this is extremely important information, because it makes me think about how african-american people was always an icon of mockery and rejection to white people. So, what do you guys think about this? How do you feel or think about this humiliating and degrading show becoming so famous? I believe it's necessary to discuss this.
Regarding everything i've said, i believe this is extremely important information, because it makes me think about how african-american people was always an icon of mockery and rejection to white people. So, what do you guys think about this? How do you feel or think about this humiliating and degrading show becoming so famous? I believe it's necessary to discuss this.
I think that it's wrong that they made imitations of black people because although it has been a fun, in the same way it can be considered as a form of discrimination. As you explain, this became in a way of insulting African American people which clearly isn't right. It's something very humiliating for them and we all know that at that time there was so much discrimination; and I hope that still not occurring situations like this. Thank you for sharing this with us, it's very interesting!
ResponderEliminar