Letter from Robert G. Lee to Al Jolston

Dear Mr. Jolston,

I recently viewed your film, The Jazz Singer, because I have been conducting research about the role that popular culture has played in constructing American racial identities throughout history. I have to tell you Mr. Jolston, your character, Jackie Rabinowitz/Jack Robin, was very powerful because he revealed the role that generational differences play in shaping racial identities, challenges the black/white binary, and looks closely at the relationship between race and class. Within the film, viewers witness a young boy—and eventually man—who is grappling with notions of “whiteness,” “Jewishness,” and “blackness” as he struggles to understand his own racial identity. Jackie/Jack reminds readers that during this period, Jews were not quite white or black, but attempting to carve out a space for themselves among the U.S. racial/ethnic groups.

Still, while Jackie’s/Jack’s interest in Jewish traditions, jazz, ragtime, and upward mobility provided him with the potential to develop a unique American identity that incorporated notions of “whiteness,” “Jewishness,” and “blackness,” he privileged the two former. Although Jackie/Jack performed as himself early on, he gained mobility as a jazz singer by performing in blackface. As a result, his upward mobility and ability to interact with mainstream society was contingent upon his decision to contribute to the racialization of African Americans through minstrelsy. Furthermore, Jack was able to maintain a degree of “whiteness” and “Jewishness” by hiding behind blackface, which further distanced him from African Americans. In this way, Jack contributed to further marginalizing blacks as he moved forward on the socio-economic ladder and into the mainstream.

Mr. Jolston, although scholars of race/ethnic identity and construction are greatly indebted to your film, your performance has also helped shape problematic popular notions of race in the U.S. I hope that through my research and the work of my colleagues, we can begin to encourage popular figures to think more critically about the roles they accept because these images enter the mainstream and play a profound role in shaping race relations.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Lee

Questions:

1) In The Jazz Singer, Jackie/Jack finds himself grappling with notions of “whiteness”, “blackness”, and “Jewishness”. Which racial identity does he choose in the end? How does his “Jewishness” challenge the black/white binary in American racial history?

2) In Robert G. Lee’s book, he focuses specifically on the role that the white American working classes have played in reifying racial identities through their engagement with popular culture images. Does Lee place too much “blame” on the white working classes for the racialization of Asian Americans? How does both The Jazz Singer and Orientals encourage us to think differently about the role that class plays in the construction of American racial identities?