The Frogs, African American Theatrical Organization

At the beginning of the twentieth century theatrical clubs were formed to provide a sense of fraternity for members of the entertainment community in New York. This brotherhood was not inclusive. While there were black Broadway and vaudeville entertainers, no blacks were allowed in the membership of these theatrical clubs. In response to the need for such a fraternal organization for blacks, on July 5, 1908, a group of Black vaudevillian entertainers formed what may be the first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 organization for theater professionals.

Eleven men, including such famous names as the show business team of Bert Williams

Bert Williams

Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams was one of the preeminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920...

 and George Walker

George Walker (vaudeville)

George Walker was an African American vaudevillian. In 1893, in San Francisco, Walker met Bert Williams, who became his performing partner. Walker and Williams appeared in The Gold Bug , Clorindy , The Policy Player , Sons of Ham , In Dahomey , Abyssinia , and Bandanna Land...

, J. Rosamond Johnson

J. Rosamond Johnson

John Rosamond Johnson , most often referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson, was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson is most notable as the composer of Lift Every Voice and Sing which has come to be known in the United States as the "Black National Anthem"...

 (composer of "Lift Every Voice and Sing"), and famed band leader/composer Lt. James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s.-Biography:...

 created an organization they called, The Frogs. The founding members of The Frogs were very respected by the citizens of Harlem. They were described as, “… very aristocratic looking gentlemen, all very distinguished…a bunch of doers.”¹ According to Eric Ledell Smith in his book, Bert Williams, A Biography of the Pioneer Black Comedian, the organization chose to call themselves "The Frogs" in honor of a play by Aristophanes

The Frogs

The Frogs is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus, in 405 BC, and received first place.-Plot:...

 during which, “…the character Charon makes reference to ‘our minstrel frogs’.” ²

Although formed by actors, singers, dancers and musicians; membership was not limited to theater professionals. African American physicians and attorneys participated in the organization which raised money for charity by sponsoring an annual ball and vaudeville review called The Frolic of the Frogs. Members of the Frogs also donated enough funds to build a clubhouse in which they housed archived materials related to the African American Theater Community. ³

Sources

¹ Ann Charters

Ann Charters

Ann Charters was born on November 10, 1936 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She is a professor of American Literature at the University of Connecticut at Storrs and has been interested in Beat Writers since 1956 when as an undergraduate English major she attended the repeat performance of the Six...

, Nobody: The Story of Bert Williams (New York: Macmillan Company, 1970), p. 94

² Eric Ledell Smith, Bert Williams: A Biography of the Pioneer Black Comedian (North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1992) pg. 106 ISBN 0-89950-695-X

³ Ibid.