Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1935-01-18
HERE and
THERE
By W. NJ. Smith


up an old copy of the Kansas City
Call and read therein the passing
of an old friend-Jesse Ship, dean
of Negro play writer's and actors.
OF course, i knew of Jesse's
death, but the article was interest
ing because the mention Of his
early history was true to my mem
ory of it. Shipp was a fine char
acter and always had been. AS
very young man, he was known for
his progressive ideas and for his
straightforward thinking; his word
was in every sense his bond.
The Call said he began his career
with the organization of a male
quartette in Cincinnati. This in
deed is true, but there are incidents
connected with this initial effort,
interesting to me as / recall them,
and of practical value to young men
of this day as they seek to devel-
op some way for economic success
outside the beaten path.
Shipp sang the lead with his
quartette and took the lead in all
matters involved in the quartette's
business. He furnished the inspir-
alton and arranged the business en-
gagements that took these boys
from a Barber Shop Quartette"
and propelled them onto the stage,
where Ship, at least, became one
of its leading lights. The boys
used to go to the beer gardens, of
which Cincinnati had a plentiful
supply, and sing for what reward
they could get. Generally it was
generous glasses (schooners) of
beer, but quite often it was nickels
and dimes which the pleased pa
irons threw upon the floor. In this
way they achieved quite a local
reputation and were in frequent de-
mand as entertainers in places
where hilarity reigned.
Shipp and his gang were older
than I, but / was permitted to tag
along with them, principally be-
cause of my wide-eyed admiration,
especially for the bass singer, who
/ thought was simply wonderful.
Undismayed by many rebuffs,
Shipp at last landed small en-
gagement in a travelling show and
from then on his career was clear
ly marked.
In that early day, the Negroes
only approach to the stage was
through the medium of the min
strel = a medium that Shipp al
ways detested but was compelled to
accept, and much of his time,
energy and ingenuity was spent in
trying to overcome this handicap.
When he began to write plays
and his work won recognition, he
realized he must make progress
slowly, so he wrote and produced
such plays as "Sons of Ham,"
"Abyssinia," "Bandana Land" and
lode of Koal," all of which car
ried enough of the Negroid char
acteristics to make them acceptable
to white audiences and to white
theater owners. All of them, how
ever, were beautifully staged and
specialized in lovely music and at
tractive women. On one of his rare
visits to Minneapolis, Shipp told
me that in each of these plays he
introduced about ten minutes of
serious drama. 1t was done stealth
lily and without the knowledge of
the public or the theater, for this
little innovation had no visible con-
nection with the play of the mo-
ment; but subconsciously it built
up in the minds of the hearers the
thought that Negroes could act.
The result of that consistent action
is seen today in the magnified po-
sition the Negro occupies on the
stages of America and of Europe
and accounts for the successes of
such productions as Emperor
JONES'" "Porgy" and "The Green
Pastures"