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Following on from the broadcast email letter to members ‘Calling time on full face black makeup’, on 3rd July 2020, here are some of the frequently asked questions from members.
See all our Face Paint pages:
- Main Face Paint FAQ page
- Face Paint Guidance
- Historical references to face paint (this page)
- Legal and Insurance issues
- Photos on Web sites and Social media
Some historical references to face paint in dancing
The tradition may not be what you think it is. There are many papers that link American Minstrelsy with UK folk traditions.
For short reads:
- these articles from the Runnymede Trust a leading independent race equality think tank, the most recent being …
- Lester Holloway: ‘nothing innocent about blackfacing’ (2016) which draws upon the works of Tess Buckland and Patricia Bater’ (see below)
For medium length reads:
- Stephen Rowley: “The Black Face of Morris” (2020)
- Tony Forster: “A polemicist’s view: what we know about the tradition of blackface dancing” (2020)
- Peter Bearon: “Coconut Dances in Lancashire, Mallorca, Provence and on the Nineteenth-century Stage” (2017)
- Tess Buckland: “Black Faces, Garlands, and Coconuts: Exotic Dances on Street and Stage” (1990) [need to register, but it’s free]
For longer reads, including Border, Coconut dancing and Mumming, see:
- Patricia Bater’s MPhil thesis: “‘Blacking Up’: English Folk Traditions and Changing Perceptions about Black People in England” (2013) together with …
- and a short summary of Patricia Bater’s recent conclusions: “As a Lifelong Follower of Morris” (2020)
Feedback
If you have any questions, or anything at all you wish to discuss with us on this topic, please email us at feedback@morrisfed.org.uk.
Last updated: October 2020