Banjo Icons

A Brief History of America’s Views on The Banjo

Many Americans in the Bluegrass and Country genres are famous for playing the banjo. On this page we include some of the most popular artists.

The American banjo was introduced by enslaved people to the United States before it was picked up by Southerners as a way to mock Black Americans in minstrel shows during the Jim Crow era. In addition to teaching how to play the instrument, banjo guides also taught stereotypes through negatively portrayed stereotypes of Black Americans. As a result, banjo became associated with racist ideologies (Barnes 2024).

In the mid-twentieth century, there was great change in the public image of the banjo, marked by a significant shift in American mass media. The banjo’s previous associations with Blackness faded as guitars took center stage. In contrast, the banjo became synonymous with poverty, lawlessness, and uneducated white male rebellion in the South and Southwest (Barnes 2024).

Black people have continued to play the banjo despite shifting public perceptions of the instrument. Players employing it skillfully in diverse genres that include old-time string band music, jug band music, ragtime, blues, and mento. There is an ongoing movement known as the “Black Banjo Renaissance”, which strives to reconstruct views on the banjo (Blout 2024).

Earl Scruggs, a young white man, holds his banjo in this black and white photo.
Earl Scruggs
A black and white image of Pete Seeger, a young, white man in the middle of playing his banjo.
Pete Seeger
Dolly Parton, a white woman, sits on stage to perform her banjo and sing.
Dolly Parton
Steve Martin, an older white man, is on stage holding a banjo.
Steve Martin
A black and white image of Roy Clark, a white man, as he sings and plays his banjo onstage.
Roy Clark
Taylor Swift, a young white woman, photographed onstage with her banjo.
Taylor Swift
Sources

“The Humble Genius Of Earl Scruggs.” Southern Songs and Stories, 2023. https://www.southernsongsandstories.com/blog/2023/1/23/the-humble-genius-of-earl-scruggs 

Grossman, Sid. n.d. Pete Seeger Photograph. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://www.si.edu/object/pete-seeger:npg_NPG.94.85.


Getty Images. Cherry Red Nails, 1970s Photograph. InStyle. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.instyle.com/dolly-parton-beauty-evolution-11706241.

‌Steve Martin on Banjo Beginnings. Photograph. BBC. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-22364750.

Roy Clark. n.d.Photograph. American Banjo Museam. Acessed November 7, 2025. http://www.abmbpd.info/search.html%20%E2%80%8C.


Make like Taylor and Co with a Banjo Photograph. Marie Claire. Accessed November 7, 2025. https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/things-to-do/5-hobbies-to-try-this-autumn-that-you-had-probably-never-thought-about-101722.

‌Barnes, Rhae Lynn. “Working Class Hero to Felon: Picking Apart the Banjo’s Cinematic Character Assassination in Postwar Mass Culture and Film.” Modern American History 7, no. 2 (July 1, 2024): 313–18. https://www-cambridge-org.umw.idm.oclc.org/core/journals/modern-american-history/article/working-class-hero-to-felon-picking-apart-the-banjos-cinematic-character-assassination-in-postwar-mass-culture-and-film/AC2BB4E6BD6CD5D0BE992ECAF10400D6.

Blount, Jake. “Jail the Zombie: Black Banjoists, Biopolitics, and Archives.” Modern American History 7, no. 2 (July 2024): 301–6. https://doi.org/10.1017/mah.2024.30.

‌