Cunningham

Cunningham

Blackface first arose in Europe as a practice of caricaturing Black people, and became popularized in the United States during the 1830s and 1840s (Clark 2019). It was commonly included in theatrical and musical productions that came to be called Blackface minstrelsy, performances that continued well into the 20th century (Morrison 2019). The use of Blackface in non-performance contexts was common at the college, and several notable cases (ranging from the 1840s to at least the 1860s) are mentioned by the Board of Trustees in their original meeting notes (Board of Trustees Volume I, 37; 140; 234-7). These cases seem to demonstrate a pattern of students donning Blackface in order to avoid accountability for various crimes (drunk and disorderly conduct, property destruction, etc.) and implicate Black men as the perpetrators.

Professor E.J. Erwin, benefactor of the Erwin lodge and Davidson professor from 1920 to 1954, organized the first Blackface minstrelsy performance at the college in 1920 (Davidsonian writer 1920 “College Minstrel”). He continued to manage these performances with the financial and technical support of many others in the campus community (Davidsonian writer 1921). Students were the most common actors in the shows and engaged in parodies of jazz, clog dancing, and Black spiritual practices that we understand today as deeply disturbing mockeries of Black culture operating (much like Blackface performances) within the logic of reproducing White supremacy (Davidsonian writer 1920 “Initial Presentation”). These performances were a popular form of entertainment on campus and deeply embedded in campus culture, as demonstrated by each show being closed with the school song “O’ Davidson” (Ibid.). These cases show that the college not only hosted but also openly publicized and endorsed the continual treatment of Blackness as a caricature and costume that existed first and foremost for Whites’ entertainment. As the first widespread representation of African Americans in 19th century media, Blackface personas irrevocably impacted the social, economic, and political status of Black people throughout the United States (Morrison 2019) by establishing and reinforcing stereotypes of Black people as inherently lazy, unskilled, superstitious, and aggressive (Clark 2019).