But African-American artists have made a tremendous impact, primarily as writers and performers, but also as creators of source material for Broadway shows and music.
Even though Shuffle Along was not the first Broadway musical featuring a Black cast in a Broadway theater (that distinction belongs to In Dahomey in 1903), it was the first Broadway musical written, composed and performed entirely by Black artists.
Previous to the opening of Shuffle Along, there hadn’t been a successful “Black musical” on Broadway in 12 years, which made it particularly hard to mount the production.
While Broadway did a particularly bad job elevating African-American voices until the late 20th century, the mostly liberal creators of Broadway shows were weaving the issues of racial injustice through both drama and musical theater.
While Broadway has not been great for African-American artists, the official awards of Broadway, The American Theater Wing’s Tony Awards, has been far better.
