The Surprising Origin of 'Cakewalks'

Ever wonder where the term, "Cakewalk" came from?

Music: Speakeasy Strut - @FreesoundMusic

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[Eviltwin]

Yikes, I need to be careful with this. I admit "cakewalk" has been a pretty common part of my vernacular for a while, but I always knew it as a game we played at our school carnival, (kind of a cross between musical chairs and a raffle. You walked around a ring of numbered chairs until the music stopped, then they drew a number, and if you're sitting in the chair with that number, you won a prize, normally a cake of course.) I didn't know about this kind of cakewalk until much later in life.
I guess I just assumed the connotation of "cakewalks" being "easy" was because it was basically a no-skill-necessary contest.

[keyscott-hale]

Thank you for this breakdown of the term

[MrElliotc]

I love taking complex cultural manifestations and reducing them to whatever the most recent simplistic academic interpretation holds.

[auldthymer]

I did not know the element of the black people parodying the white people. That makes me smile.

[Gleem]

Thank you for covering this topic. When I learned Lindy Hopping and other American dancing in the early 90s, Frankie Manning-one of the originators of the dance-taught us about these dances’ histories. You can look up Frankie in the “Hellzapoppin” Lindy video here. He’s the one in the overalls. Absolutely so well-loved in the dance community. We miss him.

[crymearobot]

Fascinating, I was researching an old audio tech company called cakewalk and came across this. Subd

[margaretthomas]

Oh The Premierships a cakewalk, part of the lyrics in the Collingwood football team's theme song playing this Saturday on the M. C.G in Melbourne Australia, in the grand Final. Sept 30 2023. Kiss are the half time act.

[nerdlarge]

Thank you for breaking down this Black history.