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PRODID:SoDel
X-WR-CALNAME:Fireside Chat with Rhae Lynn Barnes | Darkology: Blackface and
  the American Way of Entertainment
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:347462026-04-12
DTSTART:20260412T210000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20260412T040000Z
LOCATION:111 Adams Avenue\nLewes DE 19958
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=111 Adams Avenue\nLewes DE 
 19958;X-APPLE-RADIUS=49;X-TITLE=111 Adams Avenue:geo:38.767089,-75.140999
GEO:38.767089;-75.140999
SUMMARY:Fireside Chat with Rhae Lynn Barnes | Darkology: Blackface and the 
 American Way of Entertainment
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:The history of Blackface minstrel shows in the United States is
 \nshocking. Princeton historian Rhae Lynn Barnes has spent decades\ndiggin
 g through archives and private collections to reveal the\nextraordinary ex
 tent to which the caricatured and dehumanizing\ndepiction of formerly ensl
 aved people was a staple of community\nentertainment for more than two cen
 turies. In the mid-19th century\,\nblackface evolved from a niche burlesqu
 e sideshow to a national\nobsession\, performed in churches\, Elks Clubs\,
  schools\, on Capitol\nHill\, and even at the Washington\, DC\, Gridiron D
 inner. Barnes reveals\nhow the practice was eventually federalized during 
 the Great\nDepression and World War II\, used as a bizarre tool of\n\"Amer
 icanization\" on military bases and in POW camps. Nearly every\npresident 
 until Gerald Ford attended minstrel shows\, and President\nFranklin D. Roo
 sevelt was scheduled to attend one on the day he died.\nIn the aftermath o
 f the Civil War\, minstrel shows were used to portray\nBlack Americans as 
 inferior\; in fact\, the 'Jim Crow' South was named\nafter blackface’s f
 ounding character. But Barnes also chronicles the\nlong\, overlooked Civil
  Rights fight to stop it\, detailing how Black\nveterans and mothers mobil
 ized to banish the practice from American\nlife. Author Rhae Lynn Barnes w
 ill join host Paul Sparrow for a\nconversation about her stunning new book
 \, Darkology\, and the damage it\nhas done to generations of Americans. NO
 TE: this session is available\nto attend in-person or through Zoom. You MU
 ST REGISTER and indicate\nwhich you prefer. Each individual attending must
  register. This\ncollaborative program by the Lewes Public Library\, Histo
 ry Book\nFestival\, and Browseabout Books is part of a series in observati
 on of\nAmerica250\, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signin
 g of\nthe Declaration of Independence\, marking America’s\nSemiquincente
 nnial.  Venue: Lewes Public Library.
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The history of Blackface minstrel shows in the
  United States is shocking. Princeton historian Rhae Lynn Barnes has spent
  decades digging through archives and private collections to reveal the ex
 traordinary extent to which the caricatured and dehumanizing depiction of 
 formerly enslaved people was a staple of community entertainment for more 
 than two centuries. In the mid-19th century\, blackface evolved from a nic
 he burlesque sideshow to a national obsession\, performed in churches\, El
 ks Clubs\, schools\, on Capitol Hill\, and even at the Washington\, DC\, G
 ridiron Dinner. Barnes reveals how the practice was eventually federalized
  during the Great Depression and World War II\, used as a bizarre tool of 
 \"Americanization\" on military bases and in POW camps. Nearly every presi
 dent until Gerald Ford attended minstrel shows\, and President Franklin D.
  Roosevelt was scheduled to attend one on the day he died. In the aftermat
 h of the Civil War\, minstrel shows were used to portray Black Americans a
 s inferior\; in fact\, the 'Jim Crow' South was named after blackface’s 
 founding character. But Barnes also chronicles the long\, overlooked Civil
  Rights fight to stop it\, detailing how Black veterans and mothers mobili
 zed to banish the practice from American life. Author Rhae Lynn Barnes wil
 l join host Paul Sparrow for a conversation about her stunning new book\, 
 Darkology\, and the damage it has done to generations of Americans. NOTE: 
 this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST RE
 GISTER and indicate which you prefer. Each individual attending must regis
 ter. This collaborative program by the Lewes Public Library\, History Book
  Festival\, and Browseabout Books is part of a series in observation of Am
 erica250\, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the 
 Declaration of Independence\, marking America’s Semiquincentennial.  Ve
 nue: Lewes Public Library.
DTSTAMP:20260412T193129Z
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