Performers in minstrel shows, a kind of performance theater popular until the mid-20th century in which performers, usually white actors in blackface, mocked black people by portraying exaggerated, stereotyped characters.
Minstrel Term Timeline in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
The timeline below shows where the term Minstrel appears in Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
...never pay to see. Visiting professional performers sometimes gave impromptu shows in the back—like one minstrel whose interpretation of Shakespeare “strangely stirred” the audience, and who in his life clearly “did... (full context)