Joy Reid Highlights Controversial Origins of “Jingle Bells”
Former MSNBC host Joy Reid recently shared a viral video on social media suggesting that the Christmas classic “Jingle Bells” has racist roots and was originally written to mock Black individuals.
The video, posted on Reid’s Instagram, features a man expressing his frustration over a plaque in Medford, Massachusetts, which commemorates the location where James Pierpont allegedly wrote the song in 1850.
The caption of the video reads, “This is where a racist Confederate soldier wrote ‘Jingle Bells’ to make fun of Black people.” It further criticizes the plaque for honoring Pierpont while overlooking the song’s origins in blackface minstrelsy.
Throughout the video, the speaker argues that Pierpont’s phrase, “The One Horse Open Sleigh,” was intended for use in racist performances, where White actors performed in blackface to ridicule Black individuals participating in winter activities.
The video asserts that the song’s theme of ‘laughing all the way’ is likely linked to a racist comedy act called the ‘Laughing Darkie.’
These claims are based on a research paper by Kyna Hamill, a theater historian from Boston University, published in 2017.
Hamill noted that the song’s initial creation was influenced by the economic struggles of its creator, the racial dynamics of antebellum Boston, as well as the theatrical practices of blackface performers in the Northeast.
She further explained that for many who sing or hear “One Horse Open Sleigh,” its troubling racial history often goes unnoticed, blending into the idealized image of a typical ‘white’ Christmas. However, acknowledging this aspect can prompt reflection on the complex roles of race in the U.S.
Before the Civil War, Pierpont changed the song’s title to “Jingle Bells” and later enlisted in the Confederate Army after distancing himself from his abolitionist family, according to Reid’s shared video.
In her own commentary on the post, Reid remarked, “American history is a horror show,” adding red exclamation marks for emphasis.
