A former MSNBC (renamed MS NOW) host, Joy Reid, shared a viral video to her 1.3 million Instagram followers this week claiming the Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was written by “a racist Confederate soldier” to “make fun of Black people.” The video cites a 2017 academic study as evidence—but the researcher who conducted that study says her work is being misrepresented.
What the Research Actually Says
Boston University theater historian Kyna Hamill published the research in question, a peer-reviewed article examining the early performance history of “Jingle Bells.” Her work documented that the song’s first known public performance occurred on September 15, 1857, at Ordway Hall in Boston—a venue that hosted minstrel shows—performed by Johnny Pell, a blackface minstrel performer.
But Hamill’s research did not claim what the viral video asserts. Her article did not argue that composer James Lord Pierpont wrote the song for minstrelsy, did not identify racist intent in its composition, and did not claim its lyrics carried racial meaning. The research documented how music circulated through 19th-century entertainment networks when minstrel shows were the dominant performance platform.
“I never said it was racist now,” Hamill told the Boston Herald in 2017 when her research first sparked controversy. “Nowhere did I say that.”
The video Reid shared makes several claims unsupported by Hamill’s research. It asserts Pierpont wrote the song specifically to mock Black people. It suggests the lyric “laughing all the way” references a minstrel-era stereotype called the “Laughing Darkie.” It presents the minstrel-show connection as proof of racist intent.
Hamill’s actual research makes none of these claims. Her article noted that minstrel shows functioned as the primary commercial stage system of mid-19th-century America. Songs without racial themes routinely appeared in those venues because few other performance options existed. The surviving lyrics of “Jingle Bells” contain no racial dialect, no references to enslaved people, and no evidence of parody or mockery.
When Research Becomes Policy
The misinterpretation has already influenced institutional decisions. In December 2021, Council Rock Primary School in Brighton, New York, removed “Jingle Bells” from its music curriculum, citing concerns about the song’s “questionable past.” School officials confirmed the decision was based partly on Hamill’s 2017 article.
When the Rochester Beacon informed Hamill of the school’s action, she said she was “actually quite shocked” and emphasized: “I, in no way, recommended that it stopped being sung by children.”
The school’s assistant superintendent, Allison Rioux, offered additional justification: “Some suggest that the use of collars on slaves with bells to send an alert that they were running away is connected to the origin of the song Jingle Bells.” Hamill’s research, however, found no evidence supporting any connection between the song’s sleigh bells and slave collars.
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The Minstrel Show Pipeline
Minstrel shows dominated American entertainment from the 1830s through the late 19th century, establishing touring circuits and serving as the main distribution system for popular music before recording technology existed. When minstrelsy declined, vaudeville replaced it, retaining the variety format. Vaudeville then fed directly into Broadway musical theater and early Hollywood film.
Countless songs, performance styles, and routines passed through this system. Broadway musicals evolved from vaudeville formats that emerged from minstrelsy. Early Hollywood films featured blackface performances well into the 20th century. Stand-up comedy, folk music, country, bluegrass, and jazz all developed within the same entertainment pipeline.
The historical record shows no widespread effort to scrutinize these art forms using the same standard now applied to “Jingle Bells”—that performing in a minstrel venue confers racist meaning regardless of content.
What the Research Actually Shows
Hamill’s work documented a historical pathway, not a moral judgment. Her research confirmed that “Jingle Bells” was not written as a Christmas song, was not written for children, and had its earliest documented performance in a minstrel venue. She emphasized in interviews that her academic work aimed to understand how popular music circulated in the 19th century, not to label specific songs as inappropriate for modern performance.
“I was not looking to dictate what songs are sung at Christmas,” Hamill said when the controversy first erupted in 2017.
The viral video Reid shared presents speculation as documented fact, attributes intent without evidence, and cites academic research that contradicts its central claims. The researcher whose work supposedly supports these assertions has repeatedly stated her findings are being misused.
The controversy continues as the video spreads across social media, renewing questions about how historical context should inform modern cultural decisions—and whether those decisions are being made based on accurate information. Notably absent from the debate: calls to apply the same scrutiny to Broadway, Hollywood, or the music industry that evolved through the same entertainment pipeline.
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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