The First Black Circus Owner's Philosophy On How To Treat Performers
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 October 2024
⏱️ 3 minutes
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Summary
The circus was in town, and the tent was filled to capacity. Families traveled from miles around to see something they’d never seen. As the Ringmaster stepped from the shadows, the crowd gasped. What on earth was THIS?
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Transcript
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| 0:29.6 | The circus was in town and the tent was filled to capacity. Families traveled from miles around |
| 0:36.0 | to see something they'd never seen. |
| 0:38.3 | As the ringmaster stepped from the shadows, the crowd gasped. |
| 0:44.3 | What on earth was this? |
| 0:47.3 | This is two-minute black history. |
| 0:50.3 | What you didn't learn in school. |
| 1:02.0 | Pablo Fankhe wasn't his real name, but then again, it was hard to know what was real and what wasn't about him. But there was something about him that was a dead giveaway. |
| 1:10.0 | Fonke loved horses. Aside from caring for them, he could also do extraordinary tricks with |
| 1:19.1 | them. Perhaps that was why he ended up performing in the circus. However, it wasn't his incredible |
| 1:26.2 | equestrian skills that made him such a standout. |
| 1:30.3 | In early 1800s, Europe, he was the only black person to perform such skills. |
| 1:36.3 | His skin color made him a spectacle to white crowds, but his skill made them into fans of his work. It wasn't long before he owned his own circus, the only black one in the country, |
| 1:50.0 | but this was a sight the world had never seen for another reason as well. |
| 1:55.0 | Unlike all other circuses across the globe, he didn't mistreat his performers. He paid them well, provided |
| 2:03.6 | them benefits, and respected them. As a result, his circus truly became one of the most well-loved |
| 2:11.6 | and lucrative in the world. Fonke, as mysterious as he was, made a fortune by paying his workers well and respecting |
| 2:22.3 | them at a time when such methods were unheard of. |
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