Most popular during the vaudeville era in the U.S., white performers would perform as minstrels onstage. 

This means they would apply a layer of burnt cork (from a wine bottle) onto their faces to darken their skin, exaggerate their lips and wear woolly wigs,

while playing-out their exaggerated and distorted characterizations of enslaved Africans and free blacks.

These performances reinforced stereotypes and racist images that linger with us even today.