Ayanna Thompson on the Deep History of Shakespearean Blackface

Professor Ayanna Thompson is a leading Shakespearean authority, with special expertise on Shakespeare and Race. She is the Director of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University.

In this recent piece for Smithsonian Magazine, Dr. Thompson explains the long and damaging history of blackface performance. A key passage:

European blackface and American minstrelsy alike assume that performing blackness is a white birthright -- that the stage is a white domain in which blacks are not allowed to tell their own stories, or even enjoy basic dignities.

Theater institutions across the country and around the world are being asked to come to terms with their often sad history and inaction when it comes to inclusion and, yes, even basic dignities. A good place to start is with essays like this, which shed light on harmful practices and the attitudes they perpetuate. A "return to tradition" is rarely, if ever, a real solution. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/blackface-older-you-think-180977618/