A photograph dated from the school year 1937-1938, Boyer Memorial High School, Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, of the cast of the class play performed on the auditorium stage. Three of the members of the cast appeared in black-face. The name of the play was not given.
The photo appeared on page 51 of a 215-page-book, A Dream Fulfilled: Boyer Memorial School and a History of Other Halifax Schools Throughout the Centuries, 1794 Forward, by Pearl Bretz Hane, which was published in 2014 by the Halifax Area Historical Society, P.O. Box 562, Halifax, Pennsylvania 17032.
A label on the photo identifies those pictured. However, the number of people in the front row and back row does not match up with the number of names given for each row.
Front Row: Belva Zimmerman; Glenn Zimmerman; Lee Urich; Elva Rummel; Claude Weiss; Marlin Wilbert; —–?—–.
Back Row: Marie Snyder; Gloria Keiter; Opie Laudenslager; Cliff Lebo; Marlene Deibler; Ivan Kinsinger.
This post is part of a series in which news articles, photographs and other “memorabilia” are presented to show how “black-face” was infused into the culture of the Lykens Valley area. Readers are invited to submit photos and recollections on how long this offensive “entertainment” lasted and what locals thought of it as part of the culture of the area.
Typically, white men and women blackened their faces, and performed while emphasizing negative stereotypical behavior that they attributed to African Americans. The primary purpose was to get laughs. The practice was supported by prominent people in the community and often found its way into school plays such as shown here.
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Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.