Why Did These Black Men Perform In Blackface?

poster of two white actors in black face
Via Wikimedia Commons
Briona Lamback
October 24, 2022

They could’ve gotten on the stage and performed anything other than THIS. But these two Black men chose to paint on blackface and clown around for more white laughs than ever. 

What the hell?

Egbert Williams and George Walker were the “Two Real Coons.” They didn’t initially set out to perform in blackface; they were actually against it.

Williams and Walker performed at hoochy-coochy joints along the minstrel circuit for a few years, but it was dangerous. Once, they were accused of dressing too nicely, stripped of their clothes, and nearly killed.

The duo went on to create the first all-Black musical comedy, “In Dahomey,” to play at major Broadway theaters. The show traveled internationally and at home. It forced the integration of theaters around the country. 

Was their cooning worth it?

Like Williams and Walker, some of our people feel they have to cap for whiteness to survive–and it’s not their fault. White supremacy made it that way. But we don’t need them. They need us, and our liberation depends on our rejection of white supremacy.

We have a quick favor to ask:

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