- Mar 9, 2011
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Does anyone else remember a time when America wasn't obsessed with "racism"?
Medford proudly bills itself as the birthplace of ‘Jingle Bells.’ But should it?
"As Hamill wrote in a paper published this September in Cambridge University’s theater history journal, Theatre Survey, the story of “Jingle Bells” — originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” — is one in which “the racial history of the song has remained hidden behind its local and seasonal affection.” First performed on September 15, 1857, at the Washington Street minstrelsy, Ordway Hall, the song was one of many attempts by Pierpont to cash in on the racist entertainment that was popular at the time.
In the study, Hamill found that such onstage minstrel shows were part of a larger genre of satire at the time that “lampooned” black participation in wintry activities such as sleigh riding. The field often depicted black people “behaving foolishly, grotesquely, and incompetently.” Performances of “Jingle Bells” included stereotyped “dandy” characters that mockingly portrayed black people within Northern culture."
Medford proudly bills itself as the birthplace of ‘Jingle Bells.’ But should it?
"As Hamill wrote in a paper published this September in Cambridge University’s theater history journal, Theatre Survey, the story of “Jingle Bells” — originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” — is one in which “the racial history of the song has remained hidden behind its local and seasonal affection.” First performed on September 15, 1857, at the Washington Street minstrelsy, Ordway Hall, the song was one of many attempts by Pierpont to cash in on the racist entertainment that was popular at the time.
In the study, Hamill found that such onstage minstrel shows were part of a larger genre of satire at the time that “lampooned” black participation in wintry activities such as sleigh riding. The field often depicted black people “behaving foolishly, grotesquely, and incompetently.” Performances of “Jingle Bells” included stereotyped “dandy” characters that mockingly portrayed black people within Northern culture."
