Thomas D. Rice
Thomas Dartmouth Rice (May 20, 1808 – September 19, 1860) was a white performer and playwright who used African American vernacular speech, song, and dance to become one of the most popular minstrel show entertainers of his time. Though his act drew on aspects of African American culture and popularized them with a national, and later international, audience, Rice’s “Jim Crow” persona was a racial caricature contrived to flatter contemporary belief in white superiority.
Read more about Thomas D. Rice: Background, Character, Career, Jim Crow Laws, Personal Life and Death, Popular Culture
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