D. L. Bullock asks about the apparent acceptance of coon songs by
African-Americans of a century ago:

> Considering their contribution and the probability that they
> contributed to the rolls in question, I find it amazing that African
> Americans made no complaint about the rolls when they came out.  At
> least, I have not heard of such complaints.  It believe that these
> may have been made for the African American market since although
> they are funny today, they convey some strong emotions that may have
> been on the serious side when they were new.
>
> My collection includes:   "Pickaninnies on Parade",  "Pickaninny
> ... <snip>

The meaning and acceptance of language changes.  Today, "Negro" and
"colored" are out (despite the continued use of the name "NAACP"),
though a generation ago they were both accepted, and the former was the
preferred term.  (A jr. high school principal said to me, about 30 years
ago, when preference was moving toward "black": "I've worked too hard
to be called 'Negro' to give it up now.  If these young kids weren't so
dumb they'd know that "Negro" *means* black.")

A century ago, there was *some* opposition to most terms used in coon
songs, but not much.  Cole and Johnson, when singing "All Coons Look
Alike To Me" would replace "coons" with "boys," but they were the
exception.  (Actually, the pre-publication version of that song was
"All Pimps Look Alike To Me."  It was cleaned up for publication.)

 [ 'Tain't the only song, either, but it may be among the earliest
 [ to be 'Bowdlerized'.  It's well-known that performers clean up
 [ their routines a bit for recordings.  But when they're playing
 [ to live audiences -- well, they'll put out what the crowd wants
 [ to hear!
 [
 [ That same duo, Bob Cole and J. Rosamond Johnson, published nice
 [ (and tame) lyrics in their hit song, "Under the Bamboo Tree".
 [ I wonder what naughty couplets they sang on stage!  :)  -- Robbie

Reading black newspapers of the time, one sees that "coon," "darkey,"
etc. were in common and accepted use.  They were considered "fun
words."  In a Sedalia, Missouri, around 1898 (when Scott Joplin was
living there), the black Queen City Cornet Band had in its repertory
the song "Coon, Coon, Coon," and this was not just for white
consumption -- they performed it to black audiences in a black chapel.

Around 1903, Sylvester Russell, a columnist for many major black
newspapers, wrote an article against the song use of the word "nigger."
In his argument he specifically says that he has no objection to such
terms as "coon," "colored," "darkey," "pickanniny," etc.   Three years
later, though, he changed his mind.  At that point he argued against
"coon."  Despite his arguments, the black Indianapolis Freeman
newspaper continued using the term at least until 1917 (which is as
late as I've read in that paper).

> The only group I do not remember being mentioned was Jewish ethnicity.

Some Jewish organizations actively opposed disparaging terms referring
to their own group, and  this probably had an effect on the Jewish song
writers and publishers who were then becoming a major factor in the
sheet music business.  But there was still occasional negative de-
pictions of Jews.

On stage, disparaging depictions were common toward any group that
could be easily identified by physical features, dress, or speech
accent (blacks, Asians, Italians, Irish, Germans, Dutch, etc.).  Jews
were included in this blanket category, and one finds that black
performers, too, took part in disparaging others, including Jews.

There was at least one black performer who specialized in "Jew
depictions," and a newspaper review comments on how realistically he
shows Jewish greed by the way he rubs his hands together.

This was not a period of sensitivity nor understanding toward ethnic
differences.  An editorial in a major black newspaper commented on
Julius Rosewald (a Jewish philanthropist) donating $25,000 to the black
Tuskegee Univ.: "He's a generous man despite his race."

Ed Berlin