Hanif Abdurraqib's Rabbit Holes Into Great Black Performance

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News, News Commentary, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture, Spirituality

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2021

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hanif Abdurraqib's latest book is A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance. In it, Abdurraqib researches the impact of Black performers on American culture throughout the past several hundred years, touching on everything from minstrel shows to Soul Train, the concept of the "Magical Negro," and playing spades. Sam talks to Abdurraqib about lesser-known performers like Ellen Armstrong, the first Black woman magician, and they revisit the mythology of household names like Whitney Houston. Plus, they share aspects of Black performance they've missed most in this pandemic year.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey y'all, Sam Sanders here.
0:01.7	And to start this episode, I want to tell you the story
0:04.1	of a blackface performance that happened on live TV
0:08.4	back in the day for President Ronald Reagan.
0:12.3	I know, crazy, right?
0:14.3	Let me explain.
0:16.4	Flashback to January 1981.
0:20.0	Ronald Reagan has just won an election
0:22.4	and he has been inaugurated as president.
0:25.3	He attends this inauguration concert thing broadcast
0:28.8	on ABC and one of the performers at this concert
0:32.4	is Ben Verine, a renowned black actor in that day.
0:37.1	Ben Verine was still riding high off of critical acclaim
0:40.2	from his performance in roots, which got him in Emmy nomination.
0:43.2	That is, Honeyf Abdurrahke.
0:45.2	He tells this story in his newest book, A Little Devil in America.
0:49.4	He decided to perform at the inauguration honoring
0:54.2	Bert Williams, who was an old black, loud alien performer.
0:59.1	And as a solo actor in the early 1900s,
1:03.0	he would darken his face to work.
1:05.5	So Ben Verine is introduced by Johnny Carson of all people.
1:10.0	And here tonight, to play tribute,
	...

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