blackface

Why are there so many examples of public figures, entertainers, and normal, everyday people in blackface?

And why aren't there as many examples of people of color in whiteface?

This book explains what blackface is, why it occurred, and what its legacies are in the 21st century

There is a filthy and vile thread - sometimes it's tied into a noose - that connects the first performances of blackness on English stages, the birth of blackface minstrelsy, contemporary performances of blackness, and anti-black racism

Blackface examines that history and provides hope for a future with new performance paradigms

REVIEWS

“Blackface reveals a legacy of performance that is pointed and detrimental, known but purposely forgotten. Thompson's analysis is exquisite and exact. A new entry for the historical record.” ~ Ibram X. Kendi, Founding Director, Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, and author of How to Be An Antiracist and Stamped from the Beginning

“Essential! This is a lucid, engaging, and long overdue exorcism of American culture's greatest haunt.” ~ Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Associate Director, Playwriting MFA program, Hunter College, CUNY, USA, recipient of the Obie Award for Best New American Play (Appropriate, An Octoroon) and Pulitzer Prize finalist (Gloria, Everybody)