WPA Federal Theater Project Minstrel Show
ca. 1935
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This photograph shows performers in blackface putting on a minstrel show as part of the Federal Theater Project in New York. Minstrel shows began in the 1800s and exploited racist and negative stereotypes of Black people for the entertainment of White audiences. Their popularity was waning by the 1930s, but their legacy of racist depictions of Black people had a lasting impact on American media.
The Federal Theater Project ran from 1935 to 1939 as part of the New Deal. Its task was to employ people in the theater business and skilled craftspeople as it entertained Americans throughout the country while they suffered through the Great Depression.
Actors, directors, playwrights, stage and costume designers, vaudeville performers, stage technicians, marionette craftspeople, dancers, and performers of nearly every kind found employment with the Federal Theater Project. Over four years, more than 2,700 stage productions were performed by more than 12,000 theater professionals and seen by an audience of over 30 million people in a majority of cities, towns, and states across America.
The original caption for this photograph reads: "WPA Fed Theatre Project in NY. Variety Unit." Works Progress Administration. Federal Theatre Project.
The Federal Theater Project ran from 1935 to 1939 as part of the New Deal. Its task was to employ people in the theater business and skilled craftspeople as it entertained Americans throughout the country while they suffered through the Great Depression.
Actors, directors, playwrights, stage and costume designers, vaudeville performers, stage technicians, marionette craftspeople, dancers, and performers of nearly every kind found employment with the Federal Theater Project. Over four years, more than 2,700 stage productions were performed by more than 12,000 theater professionals and seen by an audience of over 30 million people in a majority of cities, towns, and states across America.
The original caption for this photograph reads: "WPA Fed Theatre Project in NY. Variety Unit." Works Progress Administration. Federal Theatre Project.
This primary source comes from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Public Domain Photographs.
National Archives Identifier: 195754
Full Citation: Photograph PHOCO-A-48491(186); WPA Federal Theater Project in New York: Variety Unit: Minstrel Show; ca. 1935; Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Public Domain Photographs, 1882 - 1962; Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Public Domain Photographs; Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/federal-theater-project-minstrel-show, April 26, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.