jueves, 21 de mayo de 2015

Who was Jim Crow?





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.

1 comentario:

  1. 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!

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