The poster advertises "That Minstrel Show" Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel at the Encore Theatre in San Francisco. This show occurred in January 1966. Early counter-culture material from this time is few and far between highly sought after very desirable! Though we have sold this poster with other dates listed, this is the first OP-8 Encore Theatre example to appear in our auction!

The design on this poster would NEVER be acceptable for public promotion of any event by today's standards. This Minstrel Show was performed by the Mime Troupe in black face and it offended many - both black and white. Such negative representations of black people left a damaging legacy in popular culture, especially in art and entertainment. Minstrel shows during this era were often the only depiction of black life that white audiences saw. These shows desensitized white people to the horrors of slavery. The performances also promoted demeaning stereotypes of black people that helped confirm the white's unethical notion of superiority. Several years later however the SF Mime Troupe changed direction towards more sketch comedy - meets - musical revue type productions doing away with the older Minstrel Shows of the past.

--CRITICAL DETAILS--
--TITLE: Aor-2.32
--GRADE: 8.5
--PERFORMERS: Sf Mime Troupe
--VENUE: Encore Theatre
--CITY: San Francisco
--DATE: 01/05/66
--PRINTING: OP-8; Poster
--CGC SERIAL: 2509860009