I seem to remember that blacked-up characters occur in some of the mumming plays in the English folk tradition, and some of these go back to the C15 or C16. Sweeps Days may be the next stage on after those; and of course sweeps at weddings were considered lucky, like black cats.
Peter Freshwater
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> On 18 Nov 2016, at 17:51, Susan Bolton / Jeffrey Green <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
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> My website (jeffreygreen.co.uk/171) page 171 is a very brief account of English black face prior to the 1840s, which is when American burnt cork entertainers came to Britain. I don't know when Sweeps Day (1 May) started or when minstrel figures were introduced, but it seems that chimney sweeps were a focus of those folk traditions before associations with African Americans.
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> The minstrel traditions were a libel, presenting a bogus image of black America - certainly not 'lifelike caricatures of plantations slaves' as the original email says.
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> That actress and her director deserve criticism, of course.
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> It is all bad taste, to say the least.
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> Jeff Green
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