Blackface, blackfaced, blackfacing

Blackface in the USA: ‘White’ actor in blackface (unnamed, about 1890) and ‘black’ actor Bert Williams in blackface (1921). Photos: Wikipedia (last checked in November 2025)

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The term ‘blackface’ refers to the practice of blackening one’s skin to portray people of color in acting or entertainment. Today, this practice is generally considered racist and a violation of the dignity of people of colour.

Blackface was a regular feature of the minstrel shows of the United States, which emerged around 1830. These shows became especially popular among poorer ‘white’ people. ‘White’ actors would portray people of African descent as lazy, ignorant, superstitious and hypersexual.

The minstrel shows were seen as an outlet for the frustrations of ordinary ‘white’ people. The ‘white’ working class at that time was angry at being disadvantaged by the ‘white’ middle and upper classes.

For hundreds of artists and entertainers blackface served as a springboard into other genres. This also applied to ‘black’ performers.

Minstrel shows later became also very popular in Great Britain and other parts of Europe. The British television programme ‘The Black and White Minstrel Show’ ran until 1978. In the USA, however, they started to disappear in the 1950s.

Blackface in movies

Blackface also appeared in feature films. Major ‘black’ roles were usually played by ‘white’ actors in blackface. A similar practice applied to Native Americans, Arabs, and Asians as important characters.

The 2000 US film satire ‘Bamboozled’ powerfully exposes the absurdities of blackface. Written and directed by Spike Lee, it is about a modern TV minstrel show featuring ‘black’ actors in blackface. The participating stars include Damon Wayans, Jada Pinkett Smith, Savion Glover and Michael Rapaport.

Sources:

• See detailed article on blackface on Wikipedia (last checked in November 2025).

• Watch also TED Talk (2019) by Dwan Reece, then Curator of Music and Performing Arts at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History Culture, sketching the history of blackface and explaining how it is still so harmful for African Americans when it appears today (last checked in November 2025).

• See also the article on ‘Bamboozled’ on Wikipedia (last checked in November 2025).

• See also articles “Apology for publication of Blackface and Ku Klux Klan costume photos” (2015) and “Pupils speak out after ‘kffr’ Halloween party” (2025) on blackface incidents in Namibia in the ‘Media Reports’ section of this website.