The Buddha Sneaks-In!

UK: Anti-China Racism [1971] – Black & White Minstrel Show! (5.7.2026)

. Their body language became coquettish and supposedly seductive – as Asian women were viewed as something akin to prostitutes (being always available for sexual activity). Chinese people (in relatively small numbers) had been in the UK for hundreds of years – but in 1919 the British government ethnically-cleansed 20,000 Chinese from the UK (I think around the Liverpool area) as part of a post-WWI expression of British (racist) nationalism. In 1946, the Labour government expelled around 2000 Chinese people from London – effectively ending the “Chinatown” that existed in the East of that city (Docklands). It was not until 1956 that the Tory government once again allowed British-Chinese to come to live in the UK from the British colony of Hong Kong (creating the neew “Chinatown” in Gerrard Street) – this is when my Chinese grandfather – Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) – came to the UK. In the clip above, White men are dressed-up as Black men, dressed-up as Chinese men – being neither “Black” nor “Chinese”. The White woman is yellow-facing – being neither “Asian” nor “Chinese”. As no one would employ Chinese people – they had to create jobs. Washing dirty clothes was one of their first industries – but this soon transitioned into selling their ethnic food – which became very successful.

Slave Master on his Throne

US: What Where the Black & White Minstrels? (2.7.2026)

From the 1940s onward, a progressive trend in Minstreling permitted real black men to participate on stage – often along side white actresses. It must be born in mind that plantations existed well into the early 20th century. Slaves cannot help being uneducated because that is the state that the slave-master demands (knowing less is believed to make a person more easily controllable). On stage, the “interlocuter” would sit on a central throne and control the entire show. He is in fact the “slave-master” – and his slaves sit all around him – like obedient soldiers. Why the seats? Well, the “crackers” – the white security guards with whips (stood in the aisles) – preferred that the slaves be seated (and in one place for as long as possible) until it was their turn to perform. These crackers, although hidden, probably numbered as high as the performers just in case the slave-master (or his white assistants) were attacked at any point in the show. When blacked-up white men took the place of the slaves, the risk of attack disappeared, but the organisation used to control the slaves was retained on stage as an important feature of the entertainment itself. It is interesting to consider that popular music, in all its genres, is believed to have evolved out of the Minstreling tradition.