Jump Jim Crow Analysis

In a time where America was dominated by white Americans the song popularised and as a result of the song 'Jump Jim Crow' became a 'projective adjective meaning African American' by 1838 from this the laws of segregation became known as 'Jim Crow laws'. This law mandated racial segregation in all public places; this law was created in effect to make black Americans 'separate but equal' Linder, Doug. Exploring Constitutional Law [online]. In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. Some examples of Jim Crow laws were separate public schools, public transportation and separate public schools. In addition the U.S. military was also separate. The expression 'Jump Jim Crow' meant 'to act like a staged caricature of a black person' Lahmon Jnr, W, T., 2003 Jump Jim Crow: Lost plays, Lyrics, and Street Prose of the first Atlantic Popular Culture. Lyrically within the song it …show more content…
But then on the other hand the minstrel show a powerful role in shaping stereotypes about Blacks and how they were perceived, in turn, black people were expected to uphold these stereotypes or else face white retaliation. Progressively in mid-1970s the BBC screened The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958-1978), starring the George Mitchell Minstrels (see appendix). The racist archetypes that blackface minstrelsy helped to create persisted until that day. Meanwhile, African American actors were limited to the same minstrel-defined roles for many years to come and by playing them, made them more believable to white audiences. On the other hand, these parts opened the entertainment industry to African American performers and gave them their first opportunity to alter those