We’re celebrating ten years of Our Rich History. You can browse and read any of the past columns, from the present all the way back to our start on May 6, 2015, at our newly updated database: ...

BLOOMINGTON — Although appallingly racist by today’s standards, blackface comedians and singers were a popular form of entertainment well into the 20th century.

Ma Rainey began performing in talent shows and church minstrel shows as a teenager in Columbus, Georgia. When she met her first husband, they formed a group known as the “Alabama Fun Makers ...