The Fabrication of Whiteness in Minstrelsy

Blackface minstrelsy wasn't just about mocking Black people; it was about creating the very idea of

"white people." In the 19th century, it was America's most popular form of entertainment.

The audience was full of diverse white workers, including recent immigrants who weren't

always considered "white." By laughing at an exaggerated, fake version of

Blackness on stage, they could all unite in being "not that." It was a way to mask their own class

tensions and bond over a shared identity. The country's most popular art form was built on a fake

identity to help create another.