White supremacy in blackface: The curious case of Herschel Walker

Billy Van, the monologue comedian, 1900. This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID var.1831

Blackface is one of the disgraceful aspects of American history.

Popularized in the United States after the Civil War, blackface involved white performers playing characters that demeaned and dehumanized African Americans. These offensive and blatantly racist performances…