Is jingle bells racist
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Executive summary
Scholarly research shows “Jingle Bells” (originally “One Horse Open Sleigh”) was first published and performed in the 1850s and appears in minstrel-show programs in 1857, which means its early public life intersected with a racist entertainment form [1] [2]. Writers and commentators are sharply divided: some say that history makes the song’s origins racist and worth reexamination [3] [2], while others and the researcher cited say the work has been misrepresented and that the research documents performance history rather than direct proof the composer intended racist mockery [4] [1].
1. What the research actually found
A 2017 academic investigation by Kyna Hamill and subsequent reporting found that the tune now called “Jingle Bells” was first performed publicly in a blackface minstrel show in Boston in September 1857, and that later retellings of the song’s origins have downplayed or erased that performance history [1] [2]. Hamill’s paper argues the song’s “blackface and racist origins have been subtly and systematically removed from its history,” a claim widely quoted in recent coverage [1] [5].
2. What supporters of the “racist origins” claim say
Advocates of the view that “Jingle Bells” has racist origins point to that early minstrel performance and to the broader context of mid‑19th‑century minstrelsy — white performers in blackface who trafficked in caricature and mockery of Black people — as grounds to label its early cultural formation as entwined with racist entertainment [3] [2]. Some pieces and social posts go further, alleging specific lyric references (for example “laughing all the way”) stem from racist routines such as the “Laughing Darkie,” though those specific linkages are reported as claims rather than settled facts [6] [7].
3. What critics and conservatives argue
Numerous conservative outlets and commentators have pushed back, framing the claim as an overreach or political baiting that “cancels” Christmas; they emphasize the composer James Lord Pierpont’s biography and say no clear evidence shows Pierpont wrote the song as a mockery of Black people or intended racist meaning [8] [9] [10]. Many such outlets describe the social‑media video reposted by Joy Reid as sensational and say the research is being misrepresented to stigmatize a widely enjoyed holiday song [11] [12].
4. What the researcher herself says
Kyna Hamill, whose work triggered much of this renewed attention, has repeatedly said her research traces the song’s performance history and the contexts in which it circulated; she has objected to media accounts that assert she claimed Pierpont intended explicit racism or that the song must now be banned. Hamill says she did not call for “shunning” the tune and that some reporting mischaracterized her findings [4] [1].
5. Gaps and limits in current reporting
Available sources show evidence of an early minstrel performance and of minstrel culture’s racist content; they do not provide definitive proof in the reporting that Pierpont composed the song explicitly to mock Black people or that every lyric has a direct racist origin. The reporting contains claims about specific lyrical meanings (e.g., “laughing all the way”) tied to period racist routines, but those are presented as likely or suggested rather than conclusively established by primary documentation in the cited articles [6] [7]. Not found in current reporting: direct, contemporaneous testimony from Pierpont stating he wrote the song to mock Black people.
6. How different perspectives shape what people hear today
For critics of the song’s origins, knowing the song’s early performance in minstrel settings changes how they think about cultural artifacts and whose stories get erased [3] [2]. For defenders, the song’s later universalization and lack of explicit racial language make the connection to contemporary racism tenuous, and they see the debate as politically motivated or exaggerated [8] [9]. The researcher’s own caveat — that her work documents origins and not an instruction to cancel the song — complicates easy verdicts [4].
7. Bottom line for listeners and institutions
The factual reporting supports this: “Jingle Bells” entered public life via minstrel performance in the 1850s, a racist cultural form [1] [2]. Whether that origin makes the modern song itself “racist” is contested: some scholars and commentators say the minstrel link warrants reconsideration; others and the author of the research warn against overstating intent or calling for prohibition [4] [1]. Institutions and individuals must weigh historical context, the limits of the evidence, and differing value judgments when deciding how to present the song.