The Rediscovery of George “Nash” Walker: The Price of Black Stardom in Jim Crow America

Daniel E. Atkinson

THU, FEB 5, 7:00 PM

Hall Center Conference Hall (and online via Crowdcast)

The Rediscovery of George “Nash” Walker is the first biography dedicated to the life and cultural contributions of George Walker, an actor, writer, and producer who revolutionized Black American theatre in the early twentieth century. Drawing on archival resources, newspaper accounts, memoirs, oral histories, and writings by Walker himself, Daniel E. Atkinson traces Walker’s rise from a medicine show performer to a leading figure in American popular culture.

George "Nash" Walker developed his performance skills in Lawrence, Kansas, before leaving the city at age twenty to pursue a career in vaudeville. In partnership with comedian Bert Williams, Walker helped challenge the stereotypes of minstrel performance while insisting on carefully curated Black entertainment told from a uniquely Afro-American perspective.

Atkinson is an independent scholar and former professor at the University of Kansas. He earned his doctorate in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington, where he specialized in Afro-American music and culture.

Join us in person, or watch online via Crowdcast.