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Blackface Minstrelsy in Modern America
A letter from J. F. Nickens to W. E. B. Du Bois requesting his opinion of minstrel shows in schools, 1952.

A letter from J. F. Nickens to W. E. B. Du Bois requesting his opinion of minstrel shows in schools, 1952.

This handwritten letter from J. F. Nickens asks the famous African American scholar W. E. B. Du Bois to give his opinion on the controversy regarding minstrel shows in schools.

Transcription:

714 Spadina ave

February 16, 52

Dear Dr. Du Bois,

Will you please help a fellow out of difficulties? I’ve been asked to speak on “Why Minstrel Show’s should not be given. The subject is causing a great amount of ill feelings, if you would please be kind enough some reason you could think the same should be out of school shall be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any consideration given this request.

Yours truly,

J.F. Nickens

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Citation Information
Nickens, J. F., “Letter from J. F. Nickens to W. E. B. Du Bois,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/54197ebb4692e1cf9e1dd4e10a109440.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries via Digital Commonwealth.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience

Item 14 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Blackface Minstrelsy in Modern America

Previous ItemNext Item
An excerpt from Thomas Nelson Page’s The Negro: A Southerner’s Problem, published in 1904, which discusses the “race problem” in the South.
A poster advertising Neil O'Brien and the Great American Super-Minstrels, 1895.
A pamphlet announcing a performance of the Original New Orleans Minstrels, 1876.
A photograph of a blackface acting troupe in Texas, 1911-1915.
An excerpt from The Complete Minstrel Guide, published in 1901.
A collection of minstrel shows excerpted from The Darkey Drama: A Collection of Approved Ethiopian Acts, Scenes, Interludes, Etc., 1867.
The sheet music of “Oh Susanna,” as sung by The Ethiopian Serenaders, 1863-1872.
A stereographic photograph of minstrels singing “Oh Susanna,” 1900.
An audio recording of The Peerless Minstrels, 1910.
A photograph of the African American minstrel actor Bert Williams, 1911.
A publicity portrait of Bert Williams in blackface, 1900-1910.
A recording of “Nobody Abyssinia” by Bert Williams, 1906.
Sheet music for “Miss Brown's Cake Walk” by Bert Williams, 1896.
A letter from J. F. Nickens to W. E. B. Du Bois requesting his opinion of minstrel shows in schools, 1952.
A draft eulogy written by W. E. B. Du Bois about Bert Williams, 1922.

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