Frequently for Black History Month in February, we recount stories that link to accounts of blacks in the overall history of B.C., especially with New Westminster examples.
This year we offer a very interesting example that we have not used previously, in fact one that we came across only recently.
In our arts and cultural materials for this city, we have noted local performances of minstrel shows with non-black people in blackface, singing and dancing in what would now be identified as "stereotyped" presentations.
However, in 1897, a concert was scheduled that featured a black company known as The Nashville Students Jubilee Singers.
Subsequent research has shown that this group, and another with a similar name, hold a prominent place in studies of African American music. Through the online U.S. Library of Congress collections, you can see and purchase copies of posters from the era of this art form.
An academic comment about the groups noted that they were not a minstrel company but rather a concert company.
It noted that the performances "retained the old Southern style, (and gave) a truthful representation of the Negro as he appeared in the days of slavery," with the works being important "as a record of a people whose former characteristics are fast dying away."
Back in August of 1897, the performance, scheduled to take place at the Herring Opera House, was a highly anticipated event with observations from previous shows quoted in the newspaper promoting the performance.
One comment noted that "they present the Negro as he appears in his church and camp meetings - songs of the cabin home and the plantation" and that "the fame of these exponents of vocal music of old slavery days is wide spread."
Another article noted that "the music is weird, melodious and striking. It enchains an audience sometimes to such an extent it is with difficulty the singers leave the stage at all, on account of recalls" and "the audience was delighted with the entertainment. It was real, no imitations, no burlesque, but the darkies out and out, just as they may be seen in the sunny south."
The paper reported that the local performance was well received and that "the Nashville Students Jubilee Singers appeared . before a large audience under the auspices of the Epworth League of the Methodist Church. They gave a lengthy programme, every number of which was well received. The male quartet was particularly good, and some clever specialties were introduced."
And so, in the summer of 1897, the Royal City played host to a musical company of some import at the time and still noted today.
Research shows that the "Nashville Students" groups were neither students nor from Nashville, but their music remains important in the study of African American musical culture - now part of our arts and culture tours of downtown New Westminster.
