Blackface refers to the act of artificially darkening the skin in an attempt to impersonate Black people. Blackface in Canada is not a recent phenomenon.听Rather, it dates back to the days of blackface minstrelsy鈥攁 form of 19th and early 20th century entertainment that expressed nostalgia for slavery and racist violence, and employed stereotypical representations of Black people.听Contrary to popular belief, blackface minstrelsy was a popular form of entertainment in Canada, much as it was in the United States. American minstrel troupes travelled frequently to perform in Canada, while Canada also had its own minstrel troupes听such as the Saskatoon Minstrels and the Ardrossan Snowflake Amateur Minstrels (Le Camp, 2005 , pp. 256, 371鈥� 372) performing in shows such as Belle Davis et ses negrillons (Le Camp, 2005, p. 358).听Blackface was also a favourite form of Canadian entertainment for local amateurs at fund-raisers for schools, police forces, community groups, churches, and charitable organizations (Le Camp, 2005 , pp. 327鈥� 329).听Indeed, the writer of the Canadian National Anthem, Calixa Lavall茅e, performed often as a blackface minstrel throughout Canada and the United States (Thompson, 2015), thus it might be said that the blackface is as Canadian as O Canada.
Though there appears, in some ways, to have been a resurgence of these acts in the last 10-15 years, it cannot truly be said that blackface ever entirely lost popularity here in the interim.听Full blown minstrel shows were occurring as recently as 1965 (Winks, 1997, p. 294) if one counts the scene of blackface in a performance of the Al Jolson Story in Toronto in 1999, which was apparently well-received by the audience (Le Camp, 2005, p. 315).
Contemporary Canadian blackface is, in its visual presentation, strongly reminiscent of, and often compared to, historical blackface minstrelsy performances. 听Several instances of contemporary Canadian blackface have occurred in the last ten to fifteen years.听They occur most frequently on Canadian university campuses, but several have also occurred that did not take place at universities (See timeline). Further, during research interviews for the research project from which the Arts Against PostRacialism project flows, the research team heard of many other incidents that had not appeared in the media, making it clear that contemporary Canadian blackface is more popular and occurs more frequently than one might otherwise conclude from media reports.
Contemporary Canadian blackface usually occurs in circumstances marked by ostensible humour and fun, taking place during Halloween parties, university frosh events, campus carnivals, at sporting events, comedy fests, and during satirical theatre performances.听The dubious racial enjoyment associated with blackface incidents is not restricted to those who perform it, but rather is shared by large numbers of those who witness it, who have frequently expressed their approval with awards鈥攐ften monetary鈥攆or best costume and other similar prizes.
Not surprisingly, when blackface incidents occur today, they spark intense debate, with many attempting to justify it as harmless fun, and in some cases suggesting that those who are offended by it are 鈥渢oo sensitive鈥� or bound by unwarranted 鈥減olitical correctness.鈥� Paradoxically, these claims are based upon elaborate popular Canadian mythologies that suggest (erroneously) that racism has had little relevance in its history, and that any racism there might have been has been overcome (Howard, 2017).听 Nevertheless, contemporary blackface draws quite clearly on racial tropes鈥攆ried chicken, dreadlocks, monkeys.听At the same time, and very importantly, it draws upon the ways that blackness is conceived of in dominant Canadian discourse today鈥攎ost notably as foreign.听A large number of contemporary Canadian blackface incidents in Canada portray Blackness as Jamaican or otherwise not Canadian.听This Jamicanization of blackness is conspicuous and telling when considered in comparison to contemporary blackface incidents in the United States where Blackness is most commonly represented in the 鈥済hetto parties鈥� register, and demonstrates the ways in which contemporary Canadian blackface is constituted by, and helps to constitute, the ways in which blackness is understood in Canada (Howard, forthcoming)
- Philip S. S. Howard, 2017
To Cite: Howard, P.S.S (2017) Blackface in Canada. Retrieved from:听/aapr/blackface-canada.
Notes assembled from:
- Howard, P.S.S. (2018) 鈥�." Ethnicities, 18(6), 843-868. (Published online: July 8, 2018).
- Howard, P.S.S.听(2018) 鈥�.鈥澨�听Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture, 24(1), 87-103.听(Published online: January 23, 2017).听
Other Sources:
- Le Camp, L. (2005). Racial considerations of minstrel shows and related images in Canada (unpublished doctoral dissertation). Toronto: University of Toronto.
- Thompson, B. C. (2015). Anthems and minstrel shows: The life and times of Calixa Lavall茅e, 1842鈥�1891.听 Montreal: 平特五不中-Queen鈥檚 University Press.
- Winks, R. (1997) The Blacks in Canada: A History. Montreal: 平特五不中-Queen鈥檚 University Press.
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