Nearly two years into national protests against the Amos ‘n Andy radio program which starred two former black-face minstrel entertainers, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, the Wiconisco Methodist Church decided to hold a local talent show which featured “local understudies” of the two white men. The minister of the church, Rev. R. B. Clark, served as announcer and Master of Ceremonies. It is not known if the “local understudies” performed in black-face, but considering that black-face “comedy” was always part of such minstrel-type shows, it would be unusual if they did not.
LOCAL TALENT TO APPEAR IN RADIO PROGRAM
All local talent will appear in the “radio program” to be given in the Wiconisco Methodist Church, Tuesday evening, July 19 [1932] 7:45 P.M. Weeks have been spent in perfecting this initial broadcast. Even local merchants are cooperating and all “the specials” for the week will announced through the mike. This item alone may save some local patron dimes or dollars. Impersonation, such as Amos ‘n Andy with Madam Queen and Aunt Lillian, the Town Tattler, and Kate Smith will be given by local understudies of these national known radio artists. Other talent will introduce unrivaled numbers of their own. A real feast is in store for all who avail themselves of this opportunity. The public is cordially invited to attend. An offering will be taken and the proceeds donated to the choir off the church to help complete the payments of their vestments. The detailed program is as follows:
- Announcer….. Rev. R. B. Clark
- Local Specials, Baseball Scores, etc.
- Bedtime Stories….. Irene Messner
- Selection….. The Orchestra
- Reading….. Mrs. Raymond Miller
- Vocal Solo….. Miss Marion Keen
- Amos ‘n Andy….. Local Understudies
- Selection….. The Orchestra
- Reading
- Saxaphone Solo….. Edwin Watkeys
- Kate Smith….. Mrs. Mildred Schell
- Piano Solo….. Mrs. William Miller
- Quartette….. The Seranaders
- The Town Tattler….. Florence Watkeys
- Selection….. The Orchestra
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It is hard to understand how the Wiconisco Methodist Church did not know of the national protests, particularly since the initial denouncement of the radio show Amos ‘n Andy came from the Black branch of Methodism. According to Wikipedia.
The first sustained protest against the program found its inspiration in the December 1930 issue of Abbott’s Monthly, when Bishop W. J. Walls of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church wrote an article sharply denouncing Amos ‘n’ Andy for its lower-class characterizations and “crude, repetitious, and moronic” dialogue. The Pittsburgh Courier was the second largest African-American newspaper at the time, and publisher Robert L. Vann expanded Walls’ criticism into a full-fledged protest during a six-month period in 1931. As part of Vann’s campaign, more than 700,000 African-Americans petitioned the Federal Radio Commission to complain about the racist stereotyping on the show.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
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