Former MSNBC host Joy Reid shared a viral video on social media that claims the beloved Christmas song “Jingle Bells” is rooted in racism and was written “as a mockery of Black people.”
[snip]
“This is where a racist Confederate soldier wrote ‘Jingle Bells’ to make fun of Black people,” the caption read. “This plaque in Medford, MA honors where James Lord Pierpont wrote ‘Jingle Bells’, but ignores its origins in blackface minstrelsy.”
The lengthy video goes on to claim that Pierpont’s line, “The One Horse Open Sleigh,” was written with the intended purpose of utilizing it in racist performances, which saw White actors dress up in blackface to mock Black people attempting to engage in winter activities.
The video claims that the “original lyrics” theme of ‘laughing all the way’ likely references a racist comedic routine known as the ‘Laughing Darkie.’
The claims stem from a 2017 research paper by Kyna Hamill, a Boston University theater historian.
Hamill stated the song’s original origins “emerged from the economic needs of a perpetually unsuccessful man, the racial politics of antebellum Boston, the city’s climate, and the intertheatrical repertoire of commercial blackface performers moving between Boston and New York.”
[snip]
Pierpont went on to change the song’s name to “Jingle Bells” prior to the start of the Civil War, at which point Pierpont “abandoned his family, who were northern abolitionists, and enlisted in the Confederate Army,” according to the Instagram video shared by Reid.
Adding her own caption to the video, Reid wrote, “American history is a horror show,” accompanied by red exclamation mark emojis.
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