Color and Caste in Black and White: Performing at Home and Abroad

Abstract

Race, caste, and color undeniably affected the African American performer touring nationwide and in Europe during the swing era. This chapter examines these issues in detail, picking up on the themes introduced in Chapter 1. Some historical background will help in understanding why black vaudevillians were confined to dancing in the shadow of their white counterparts. With the previous century having witnessed the abolition of slavery and two new amendments to the Constitution to insure racial equality, how could the “racial mountain” endure as a firm fixture in American life and even assert its dominion abroad?