Of course, it's worth acknowledging, as Edgar Arceneaux does, that even if the full performance had been seen, it may have still been questionable in that setting. In front of that particular audience.
Agreed.
A critique of blackface was prevelant at that time so Vereen's performance in its second half wasn't completely without context. I don't remember the inauguration but I do remember seeing a 1977 TV movie "Minstrel Man" which I believe was both directed and written by white people. A lot of leftish and avant-garde theater of the '60's included critiques or what the largely white creators saw as critical usages of blackface. |
