Minstrel Characters

The Minstrel characters were white people taking black face paint and painting their hands and faces to mock blacks. Southern America is the geographic area Minstrel characters originated. The white folks found it entertaining to make comic skits, funny acts, dancing, and music, all performed to laugh at blacks. Minstrel characters are important to black history because it shows how much black people have overcame.

The minstrel characters are a significant selection because is something that occurred long time ago and students may not be aware. It’s important to bring to the student’s attention especially black students who are unaware of their history and what people have went through for us to live a better life. A minstrel character goes to show how cruel human beings could be. I couldn’t imagine watching people on stage mock me and do such rude acts to hurt and put me down. It’s important we learn about these types of things so we can see just how fortunate we are today to live a good life without having to experience such rude acts. I look at our ancestors getting whipped and put through so much work that we don’t have to go through today like Jesus dying on the cross so we can live a better life. We owe a lot to the people who actually lived the hard times.