<div>Nathan talks with historian <a href="https://history.princeton.edu/people/rhae-lynn-barnes">Rhae Lynn Barnes</a> about Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s 1984 yearbook page and its link to a long and disturbing history of blackface minstrelsy. They discuss how white civic organizations used minstrel shows for fundraising, why the era known as Jim Crow is named after a minstrel character, and what must happen to prevent people from donning blackface going forward. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SOME LANGUAGE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE. </div>

Nathan talks with historian Rhae Lynn Barnes about Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s 1984 yearbook page and its link to a long and disturbing history of blackface minstrelsy. They discuss how white civic organizations used minstrel shows for fundraising, why the era known as Jim Crow is named after a minstrel character, and what must happen to prevent people from donning blackface going forward. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SOME LANGUAGE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE.

Nathan talks with historian <a href="https://history.princeton.edu/people/rhae-lynn-barnes" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rhae Lynn Barnes</a> about Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s 1984 yearbook page and its link to a long and disturbing history of blackface minstrelsy. They discuss how white civic organizations used minstrel shows for fundraising, why the era known as Jim Crow is named after a minstrel character, and what must happen to prevent people from donning blackface going forward. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SOME LANGUAGE THAT PEOPLE MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE.&nbsp;

267: The Faces of Racism: A History of Blackface and Minstrelsy in American Culture

OrderedDict([('@audioboom:html', '1'), ('#text', "<p>BackStory is a weekly public podcast hosted by U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman. We're based in Charlottesville, Va. at Virginia Humanities.</p>\n\n\n<p>There’s the history you had to learn, and the history you want to learn - that’s where BackStory comes in. Each week BackStory takes a topic that people are talking about and explores it through the lens of American history. Through stories, interviews, and conversations with our listeners, BackStory makes history engaging and fun.</p>")])

Education

History

OrderedDict([('@audioboom:html', '1'), ('#text', "BackStory is a weekly public podcast hosted by U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman. We're based in Charlottesville, Va. at Virginia Humanities.\n\n\nThere’s the history you had to learn, and the history you want to learn - that’s where BackStory comes in. Each week BackStory takes a topic that people are talking about and explores it through the lens of American history. Through stories, interviews, and conversations with our listeners, BackStory makes history engaging and fun.")])

Share 267: The Faces of Racism: A History of Blackface and Minstrelsy in American Culture

Sign up to save your podcasts

267: The Faces of Racism: A History of Blackface and Minstrelsy in American Culture

267: The Faces of Racism: A History of Blackface and Minstrelsy in American Culture

More shows like BackStory

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Radiolab

This American Life

Fresh Air

Selected Shorts

The Moth

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Snap Judgment

the memory palace

Hidden Brain

More Perfect

East Bay Yesterday

Sidedoor

Throughline

Antiques Roadshow Detours