Former MSNBC host Joy Reid says “Jingle Bells” is racist and was written to make fun of Black people.
In a video she shared on Instagram, a man wearing a Christmas sweater and Santa hat looks puzzled as he stares at a plaque marking the site in Medford, Massachusetts where James Lord Pierpont wrote the song “Jingle Bells” in 1850.
The video caption reads “this is where a racist Confederate soldier wrote ‘Jingle Bells’ to make fun of black people, and has its origins in bigoted minstrel shows that were popular at the time.”
“Jingle Bells” was originally titled “The One Horse Open Sleigh.”
Reid claims Pierpont was hard up for cash when he wrote the song for white actors who wore blackface to mock Black people who participated in winter activities.
She also said the line “laughing all the way” is a reference to a racist comedy routine of that era known as the “Laughing Darkie.”
Pierpont patented the song in 1859 and changed its name to “Jingle Bells.”
The song is one of the most popular Christmas anthems in the world.
The video shared by Reid claims Pierpont “abandoned his family” to join the Confederate Army at the start of the Civil War, and wrote Southern fight songs to inspire “men defending slavery.”
One school in upstate New York has already banned “Jingle Bells” from its holiday concert.
