This is an extract from a book about this time period:
During the post-Civil War era, black performers struggled with the dual burden of seeking paying roles in entertainment and presenting the black community with dignity.
Minstrelsy was still a prominent form of entertainment in the early twentieth century. Black performers like Bert Williams and Ernest Hogan entered the space only to modernize and update it.
They served as a bridge between the minstrel show and the growing popularity of vaudeville, an increasingly popular form of theater that included musical, dance, and comedic acts. Black stage entertainers like Williams and Hogan could blacken their faces, sing, and perform comedy revolving around ill-fated schemes.
But they also introduced performances which added a greater humanity into their characters. Productions by black producers like Bert Williams could also include discussions of anti-colonialism in Africa and critiques against further development of Jim Crow laws.
This political critique was disguised as comedy for largely white audiences. These performances gave African Americans a fullness not often seen when white actors sought to “depict” African Americans in blackface.
Kenya Davis-Hayes, African American Representation on the Stage, Screen, and Airwaves (2025)
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