The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-04-28
DEoADENcE or NEGRO MISsrnELsY


DECADENCE or NEGRO MINsrRELsY
The death of "Billy" Birch in New
York last week marks the disappearance
OF nearly the last OF the old-tIme negro
minstreis. and calls attention TO the decay
OF that form OF entertainments When
Buckley's "Serenaders" and the Christy
MINISTRIES came upon the scene they pre-
scented a novel form OF amusement. and
for a quarter Of a century their success
sors held warm place in the hearts Of
theatre gocrs. Then negro minstrelsy
waned for a period in this country, and
was transferred TO England. After time
1t became popular again and nearly every
large city had its stock company OF min
strels as 1t had its white companies.
Up TO this time something OF the origi-
nal form OF negro mnstrelsy had been
preserved. The men who were prominent
In black face" made their regulations as
delineators of genuine negro Characters
ties. The acting was that OF real negro
characters and the songs and dances were
genuine reproductions OF those Of the
levees and plantations. But gradually
competition and the infusion OF new peo-
pie into the companies brought about
radical changes. The popularity of the
minstrels enticed spectators TO engage
tremendous scale. First there came the
Forty overwhelmingly" troupes, the
"Mastodons" and the "Meatherums.
End men In gorgeous costumes were paid
immense salaries. Soloists commanded
the pay OF opera singers and clog teams
were given the remuneration of frst-class
actors. The companies were increased in
size till they required whole trains 10
transport them. They carried special
scenery and their seasons took In the
whole year. But they were not the old
time MINISTRIES The genuine negro flavor
OF their performance was gone. Their
songs and dances had little Of the negro
about them and the performers were sim
pv variety artists blacked up. The very
nopularity Of their work marked the dcca-
der ce of the form of the entertainment.
The people became tired Of the magni-
tude of the shows as they are daZZled and
bewidered by the multiplicity Of the rings
in the modern circus. 1t may be mis-
taken idea but Il would seeri 10 be time
for the revival OF a genuine oldtime min
st"el sLtw If we still have the performers
to interpret real negro character. real
negro dances and real negro songs.-Chi-
cago Chronicle.
There are very few men even in the
South, and none at the North. who are
able TO interpret the real negro character
or 10 speak the dialect OF the old-time
Southern negro. The modern minstrel is
a modern creation. and resembles the
negro only in being made up" TO look
like him. In many instances no attempt
is made even to initiate the negro, and
the wonder is that many of them black
themselves at all. They would be quite
as funny and cehtainly more in keeping
with the character. If they should appear
without the burnt cork.
More remarkable yet. the genuine negro
minstrel of the day is quite as poor an
imitator Of the old-time Southern negro
as the white men VINO attempt that char
acter. True to his initiative Instinct. the
real negro minstrel initiates not his broth
or in black. but his brother in white. and
attempts TO reproduce the write minstrel
1t would be well. as our Chicago con-
temporary suggests. to revive the genuine
old-time minstrel show, IL in so doing the
old-time negro character could be pre-
served. But the task is hopeless. 1t can
not be done for the simple reason, as we
have stated, that the ARTISTS" of the
present generation know less about the
Southern plantation negro than they do
about the heather Chinee. There are nu-
merous actors who can take the part of
an Irishman, a Frenchman, an English
man, or a Celestial. but the negro charac-
ter is entirely beyond them. with the
exception of Polk Miller and a few others
who have known the nes , from their
birth and who have made his character
a lifelong study, none On the stage TO-
day can portray the neg'o character.
When the present generation shall have
died out. the plantation slave as a char
acter Will have passed entirely away, ex-
cept so far as he may have been pre-
served in a few books by Southern au-
thors.