This whole subject is a really difficult one for modern audiences, since thanks to the 1960's Civil Rights movement, (some) Caucasians are a lot more understanding of the still generally lousy position of so many African-Americans in this society.
Racial humor was once very common in the U.S., and not that long ago, either. For example, when the great comic legacy of Chuck Jones is cited— as it has been often enough since his death— there never seems to be any mention of his Inki and the Mynah Bird cartoons, which starred a "Little Black Sambo" character (and the mysterious bird). I remember seeing these on TV as late as 1971 or '72, but after that, they disappeared. You certainly won't find them in any of the VHS or DVD packages that Warner Brothers has issued since then!
It was a very different time in American culture before World War II— keep in mind that from 1929 through the early 1950's, "Amos & Andy" was the most popular program first on radio, and later on television. If you ask me, that wasn't so much for racial reasons as it was because the scripts were usually first-rate and the actors were extremely funny.
But still, you had two white guys (Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden) playing black characters, and that's something that no one would put up with today. In 2004, that show certainly wouldn't make it onto a major network and attract important sponsors with a lot of money to spend on advertising— but back then, it
did. One of the most popular black jazz bands on the radio and on records in the late 20's and early 30's was called "McKinney's Cotton Pickers." The fantastic Duke Ellington Orchestra sometimes recorded under the name of "The Jungle Band" just so they could have a chance to cut some records, and of course the biggest white entertainer of that era, Al Jolson, often performed in blackface.
I've been thinking of doing a Pilsner's Picks segment on racially and "politically incorrect" musical and comedy material from about 1900 to 1940. If this would offend anyone (hi there, Stooge), I
won't, but it does happen to be part of our cultural history here in these now Dis-United (red-blue rather than black-white) States, and I've never found ignoring history to be a good thing, either for individuals or for the country as a whole.
Maybe I'll run a poll on whether anyone wants to hear some of this stuff... but not today. It's Thanksgiving, so all you stuffing-heads, giblet-brains, and turkey-necks, have a happy one!