Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars

by Kliph Nesteroff

As ratification of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 neared, a man in blackface stormed the US Capitol Building. UPI reported, “Clad in black from head to foot and wearing blackface minstrel makeup, he pranced and grimaced before the stunned House members, shouting, ‘I’se de Mississippi delegation.’ He waved a large, unlit cigar and wore a jaunty, slightly crushed top hat. A fur loincloth hung from his waist. Capitol policemen, caught unaware by the bizarre invasion, surged onto the floor … He later was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and released after forfeiting a $20 bond … Chairman Emanuel Celler, D-N.Y., of the House Judiciary Committee said he was irked at the relative lightness of [the] fine. He said he would have ‘thrown the book’ at the intruder … It seemed incredible that a man so dressed could have obtained entrance into the Capitol at all.”