All the frogs in manhattan6/1/2023 ![]() ![]() The concept of the colored man supporting himself through performance and no longer just “taking what they were given” posed a threat to the white vaudevillian and theatrical community. His original startup group, The Colored Vaudeville Benevolent Association, received negative reactions from white producers. Although unions were often negatively perceived in labor professions, it was understood that such professional organizations could be seen as beneficial to performers, both Black and white.įrogs founder, George Walker, wanted to build a fully funded, fully supported all-Black network, a functional counterpart to the white theatrical clubs and organizations that were forming during the early 1900s. George Walker and The Frogs įor performers in the early 1900s, it was apparent that white management ran their shows with a firm grip, allowing for very little advancement of colored actors and performers. It was meant to symbolize the organization’s noble goals for the Greater Black community. The name “The Frogs” originated from one of Aesop’s fables and the comedy by Aristophanes entitled The Frogs. The Frogs' mission was to build a best-in-class professional organization for Black theater professionals and those in arts-driven professions that rivaled the American Actors Benevolent Association, which did not permit Black membership. The Frogs was a charitable organization for African Americans modeled on The American Actors Beneficial Association.
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