An article on an upcoming minstrel show published in "The Index," the Pacific University student newspaper, on November 26, 1912. From approximately the 1890s to the 1940s Pacific University student groups occasionally hosted minstrel shows as entertainment and/or fundraisers. This article reports that in this year, twenty-five men (mostly students, with at least one professor) would be performing as "Big, black darkies," presumably mostly as singers in a chorus. Six of them (the "end men") were featured performers: students Charles McNeil, Earl House, Tub Shaver, Billy Livingston, Professor Jones, and one "mysterious lady." This particular event was sponsored by the Gamma Sigma fraternity and was held at the off-campus Star Theatre. No African American students are known to have attended Pacific University at the time. Minstrel shows such as this one normally included white people wearing blackface, singing and telling jokes denigrating black slang and intelligence. They relied on stereotypical racist depictions that were harmful to African Americans.
Three news articles titled on an event called the "Kappa Kotton Klub," published in the Pacific University between 1946-1948. The event was a fundraiser that was put on annually by Pacific University's Kappa Delta sorority for several years after World War II. The evening event began with socializing, dancing and variety acts, and was capped off with a risque chorus-line of sorority girls who dancing in skimpy outfits. According to former members of the sorority, this event was originally organized by a member who worked in a dance chorus in Portland and correctly judged that such a show could raise a lot of money. The event had racist connotations, however. The "Kotton Klub" was a reference to the "Cotton Club," a famous nightclub in Harlem where Black musicians and exotic dancers performed for all-white audiences in the 1920s-30s. With the sorority's name added to the event and all of the initials changed to the letter "K," the Kappa Kotton Klub had the acronym "KKK." In 1948, the event was themed as the "Deep South" and the variety acts included a barbershop quartet in blackface and other minstrel show references. No objections to the event or its name were recorded in the school newspaper.
Cover of the script for a play from the Denison's Blackface Plays series, entitles 'Two Coons in a Wreck.' This item was found in the Cornelius Recreation Club Collection. The Club put on several minstrel shows in the 1940s.
Cover of a script for a minstrel show entitled 'The Mealtime Minstrels.' This item was found in the Cornelius Recreation Club Collection. The Club put on several minstrel shows in the 1940s.
Cover of a script for a minstrel show entitled 'Dixie Moon Minstrels.' This item was found in the Cornelius Recreation Club Collection. The Club put on several minstrel shows in the 1940s.
Cover for a piece of sheet music entitled 'Croonin' Neath the Cotton-Pickin' Moon.' The music was used for various performances put on by the Cornelius Recreation Club in 1940s.
Cover for a piece of sheet music entitled 'Somebody Lied.' The music was used for various performances put on by the Cornelius Recreation Club in 1940s.
Cover of a book which instructs the reader on how to plan, cast, and produce a successful minstrel show. This item was found in the Cornelius Recreation Club Collection. The Club put on several minstrel shows in the 1940s.
Cover of a script for a minstrel show entitled 'Swanee River Minstrels.' This item was found in the Cornelius Recreation Club Collection. The Club put on several minstrel shows in the 1940s.
Cover of the script for a play from the Denison's Blackface Plays series, entitles 'Mush and Poke, Butchers.' This item was found in the Cornelius Recreation Club Collection. The Club put on several minstrel shows in the 1940s.
Cover for a piece of sheet music entitled 'Bones, You Done Me Wrong.' The music was used for various performances put on by the Cornelius Recreation Club in 1940s.
The minutes for the Cornelius Recreation Club, describing the events and fundraisers they engaged in during their first year of operation, 1947. The club's constitution and a list of about 60 members is also included.
The Cornelius Recreation Club succeeded the earlier "Commercial Club." Their stated purpose was "to provide recreational activities for both the young and older people of the community." Their regular social activities included dances, sports, picnics and holiday parties.
The Club also hosted several "minstrel shows" in the late 1940s for fundraising purposes. These offensive musical plays featured white community members wearing blackface and dressed in clownish outfits, denigrating African American people and traditions. These shows were presumably given to all-white local audiences. The 1947 records here show some of the process that the club followed in planning their first minstrel show in 1948.
