Blackface: The Most Controversial Show on Earth?

How did blackface minstrelsy dominate British and American culture for so long? Actor David Harewood investigates. Typically performed by white actors with blackened faces, minstrelsy is now seen as a shockingly racist form of ‘entertainment’. Yet from the 1830s through to the mid 20th century, black minstrelsy was at the centre of British and American popular culture and appeared in a series of mainstream Hollywood movies. Actor David Harewood explores minstrelsy’s history and legacy, its origins in African-American musical traditions – and how today’s… Video by YouTube channel.