"Cuba"
The pageant of 1898
The Cakewalk Debate
In the weeks following the performances of "Cuba," a debate erupted between J.C. Reid, editor of the Minneapolis black paper Afro-American Advance, and Fredrick McGhee, the prominent St. Paul lawyer. The debate began when Reid criticized one portion of the pageant: its cakewalk.
A brief history of the cakewalk
You may have heard of cakewalks today, and perhaps even participated in them. Cakewalks now exist as a simple game similar to musical chairs, where everyone walks around in a circle to music, and when the music stops whoever is standing in the right spot wins a cake or some other prize. This seems like a harmless activity, but cakewalks have a strange and dark past beginning in slavery.
In the 19th century, slaves would throw dance parties when they had time off, and they would often imitate and satirize their white masters' "high society" dances in an exaggerated and raucus fashion. Ironically, the masters became fascinated by these black interpretations of their dances, and would co-opt the slaves' parties and turn them into competitions in which the best dancer would receive a prize, usually a cake. This is where the term cakewalk initially emerged. White elites themselves began to imitate the dances of the slaves at their own high society parties, ironically unaware that these dances initially made fun of them. Thus, the cakewalk is a sort of double stereotype; it began with slaves stereotyping their masters' "high society" dances, and was then re-appropriated by whites as an entertaining stereotype of blacks (58).
In the later 19th century, the cakewalk became an icon of American culture. Racist images of cakewalks showed up all over in popular culture, from advertisements to decorations (59). Cakewalks also became increasingly popular among wealthy whites, most notably William K. Vanderbilt (who inherited a massive railroad fortune), who hosted a cakewalking competition in which he danced against famous black entertainer Bert Williams.
William K. Vanderbilt, wealthy white New
Yorker who was fascinated with the cakewalk
The cover art on the music for an early cakewalk, 1877
The debate
J.C. Reid initially attacked "Cuba's" cakewalk on December 3rd, 1898 in The Appeal, because he felt it presented black people according to a racist stereotype, claiming that is encourages the public to think: "all coons are alike." He framed his argument in terms of racial uplift and double consciousness, stating that the race must be careful about how they present themselves to the world because they were being judged on an "all or nothing" basis. Reid claimed that this was no time for frivolity, because the racial crimes of the South were increasing and could soon come to the North. For Reid, the solution to racial injustice was for African Americans to adopt "good character," which included high morals, education, and property ownership. These things, according to Reid, are colorblind.
A response from Mattie McGhee, the wife of Fredrick, appeared the following week in The Appeal. She argued that the cakewalk became famous because of the Vanderbilt family, who were, according ot McGhee, were upstanding and cultured Americans. She continued, saying that cakewalking could be "vulgarized or over-indulged in," but by itself was "graceful and harmless." McGhee also stated that she was not condoning public cakewalking, but that it was perfectly appropriate for use in a charitable event like "Cuba," which was itself hugely successful in uplifting the race.
Reid replied once again on December 17. He addressed Mattie McGhee's argument that the cakewalk was appropriate in a situation like "Cuba" that was designed for racial uplift. Reid claimed that white people will always think about slavery when they see a cakewalk, and that black people need to do their best to banish slavery from public memory. He also argued that it is irrelevant that white elites enjoyed cakewalks themselves, because blacks should not be looking up to whites for culture; African Americans need to create their own culture to elevate their status in society. Reid also questioned McGhee's credibility because she is a woman.
The debate spilled out of The Appeal when Fredrick McGhee responds to Reid's argument with his wife, and challenged him to a public oral debate, which Reid accepts. Unfortunately no record of the debate remains, but it gets a brief mention in The Appeal on February 11, 1899, which stated that there was a large crowd and that Fredrick McGhee (who argued that the cakewalk was harmless) was declared the winner.
Taking the debate beyond "Cuba" and its cakewalk
The debate about the cakewalk applies generally to cultural representions of African Americans, both in the past and the present. Click the links below to explore other representations of blacks in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and think about how J.C. Reid and Fredrick McGhee might interpret them. How do you interpret them?
Click here to learn about a popular form of racist entertainment in the 19th and early 20th century. An analysis of minstrelsy is also included.
Black music has also been a place where racial representations are discussed. What is "black" or "white" music? Click here to join the discussion.
Paul Laurence Dunbar was a significant black poet around the turn of the century. Click here to learn about him and read some of his poetry.
Oscar Micheaux was a prominent black filmmaker. Click here to read about him, view one of his films, and reflect on how race is portrayed through film.
© Copyright 2013 Charlie Birge. All rights reserved.