The fifth episode of the second season of Underground, “Whiteface” opens on a startling note. A room full of affluent white people have come to see a minstrel show, but instead, something else is amiss. Rather than being painted in blackface, the performers are covered in whiteface. They begin making fun of white people much to the horror of the audience. As the crowd rushes out, we soon realize that Cato or C. Powell as he’s calling himself these days is responsible for it all. Though many of us might have been shocked at the site of whiteface, Underground’s writers and creators did not pull that out of thin air. Whiteface became fairly popular during the 19th century. Initially, it was one of the many ways the Irish were mocked, and moving forward it was seen in the 20th century when actor Canada Lee, an incredibly talented performer in the 1940's donned whiteface for his role in the Duchess of Malfi. He used whiteface because his role was originally slated for a white actor. Needless to say, critics were none-to-pleased. More recently, whiteface has been seen in films like The Wayans’ Brothers White Chicks, Chappelle’s Show, and even in rapper Chamillionaire’s music video, “Hip Hop Police.”
Now a member of the Black elite in Philadelphia, Cato has used his money to assert his influence. Typically during the 19th century in Philadelphia, members of the Black elite were native Philadelphians, West-Indians, or fair complexion, freeborn Southerners. Much of the wealth in the Black community during the time period stemmed from caterers. For example, entrepreneur Robert Bogle was the first of many African-American caterers who served nineteenth-century Philadelphia's white elite, and he became extremely wealthy as a result.
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"Contraband," the first episode of the second season of Underground, opens with Beyoncé’s “Freedom” blaring as a roll of thunder awakens an enslaved man on the Fellow Plantation in 1858. The man arises before sundown, and we watch him toil all day, sculpting a statue before handing his money over to his Master at sundown. Soon, a montage of his workdays reveals what he's really up to, stealing news clippings from around the plantation to teach himself how to read. “Soldier” is the first word he learns.
The first season of Underground opened in 1857 on the Macon Plantation in Georgia. The plantation’s Master, Tom Macon is in the midst of running for Senate while trying to manage his pregnant wife, Suzanna, their large cotton plantation and many slaves. In the twenty years that Tom has been the Master of the plantation, he hasn't had a single runway.
Personally, I’ve always found it puzzling when people denounce slave stories. Though black and brown faces are too often confined solely to films about slavery and enslavement, I still don’t relish the complete eraser of these tales. After all, this pivotal time in history has shaped not only our people, but our country as well. However, Black people do need to take on these stories ourselves. It should not be left up to the Hollywood establishment to present the history of our people on screen. It’s past time for us to take the reigns. With Nate Parker’s unprecedented success with his film “Birth Of A Nation” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and now with WGN America’s striking television series “Underground”, it seems that we are finally moving in that direction.