🎄 So…  Jingle Bells  Is  Racist?

A Short History Lesson We Probably Should Have Learned First

Before we roll our eyes, dismiss it outright, or forward a snarky meme, let’s slow down and do something radical:

Look at the history.

Because the claim that Jingle Bells has racist origins didn’t appear out of nowhere — and pretending it did is how misinformation spreads on both sides.

📜 The Actual Historical Context

Jingle Bells was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont — a composer who lived in the United States before the Civil War, at a time when:

• Slavery was legal
• Blackface minstrel shows were wildly popular entertainment
• Songs were often written for those performances
• “Harmless” popular culture frequently carried racist caricatures

Pierpont himself had deep ties to minstrel culture, and some historians believe Jingle Bells was first performed not as a children’s song — but as part of a minstrel show, where white performers mocked Black Americans for entertainment.

That matters.

Not because the lyrics themselves contain slurs — they don’t — but because context matters when evaluating cultural artifacts from racist systems.

🎭 Minstrelsy: The Part People Skip Over

Minstrel shows weren’t innocent fun.

They were a dominant cultural force that:

• Dehumanized Black people
• Reinforced white supremacy
• Normalized racial stereotypes for mass audiences

Many songs we now think of as “folk” or “traditional” were written, performed, or popularized through this lens.

So when scholars raise questions about Jingle Bells, they are not saying:

“This song is secretly racist today.”

They are saying:

“This song emerged from a culture that was explicitly racist.”

Those are not the same claim.

🧠 Where the Conversation Goes Off the Rails

Here’s where things break down.

Some people hear this history and leap straight to:

• “Ban it.”
• “Cancel it.”
• “If you sing it, you’re racist.”

That reaction misses the point — and ironically mirrors the same lack of nuance that created these systems in the first place.

Understanding history is not the same as erasing culture.

Acknowledging origins is not the same as assigning guilt.

And context does not automatically dictate present-day intent.

🔔 What We Can Hold at the Same Time

We can say:

• Yes, Jingle Bells emerged in a racist historical context
• Yes, minstrel culture shaped American music
• Yes, that history deserves to be known

And also say:

• The lyrics themselves do not promote racism
• The song has been culturally reinterpreted for over 150 years
• Singing it today is not an act of racial harm

This is called critical literacy, not cancel culture.

🎁 Why This Conversation Actually Matters

When we flatten history into slogans, we lose credibility.

When we shout “racist!” without explanation, people stop listening.

And when we refuse to examine origins at all, we protect myths instead of truth.

If we care about justice, we should care about accuracy.

If we care about culture, we should care about context.

And if we want progress, we have to be able to hold complexity without panic.

🎄 Final Thought

Learning that Jingle Bells may have roots in minstrelsy doesn’t ruin Christmas.

It reminds us that:

• American culture was built inside unjust systems
• Joy and harm have often existed side by side
• We are responsible for understanding the past — not pretending it was simpler than it was

Sing the song if you want.

Teach the history if you can.

Do both with honesty.

That’s not erasure.

That’s growth.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

I history should be studied, not weaponized.

And that truth can handle daylight.

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