Heinz Employees' Minstrel Show at Main Plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Summary

Minstrel shows originated in the decades immediately before the Civil War. Performers blackened their faces to portray African Americans for white audiences. These shows entertained but contained a mixture of racial stereotypes which denigrated African Americans: portraying blacks as inferior, subjecting them to ridicule, and confining them to a preconceived place below white society. Minstrel shows remained popular well into the 20th century.

Minstrel shows originated in the decades immediately before the Civil War. Performers blackened their faces to portray African Americans for white audiences. These shows entertained but contained a mixture of racial stereotypes which denigrated African Americans: portraying blacks as inferior, subjecting them to ridicule, and confining them to a preconceived place below white society. Minstrel shows remained popular well into the 20th century.

Artifact

Photographic print

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

53.41.889

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of H.J. Heinz Co.

Material

Cardboard
Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process
Mounting

Color

Sepia (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 17 in  (mount)

Width: 20 in  (mount)

Height: 10.75 in  (photograph)

Width: 14 in  (photograph)

Inscriptions

written on front mount: Scene of Employees' Minstrel Show

"The Lyric Minstrels" at Heinz Company Auditorium,...

Details
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