A video posted by former MSNBC host Joy Reid to her Instagram account drew criticism after she claimed the Christmas standard “Jingle Bells” was written “to make fun of black people,” the New York Post reports. The video, which has since circulated on social media, shows a man dressed in a Christmas sweater and Santa hat standing near a plaque in Medford, Massachusetts, thought to mark the area where James Lord Pierpont is believed to have written the song in 1850.
In the clip, the man removes his hat and glances disapprovingly at the plaque. The caption accompanying the video states that ““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.”
According to The Post, “the video captions go on to claim Pierpont — whose nephew grew up to be legendary financier J.P. Morgan — was hard up for cash when he composed ‘The One Horse Open Sleigh,’ and did so expressly for its use in performances in which white actors put on blackface to ‘mock and caricature black people trying to participate in winter activities.’ It alleges that the lyrics ‘laughing all the way’ in the song ‘likely’ is a reference to a racist comedic routine of the day known as the ‘Laughing Darkie.’”
Pierpont patented the tune in 1859 and later renamed it the well-known “Jingle Bells” before the Civil War began. The video later claims he left his family to enlist in the Confederate Army and that he composed Southern battle songs to “rouse men defending slavery.”
The post prompted immediate discussion across various platforms, with critics arguing that the video misrepresents the song’s history and origins. Supporters urged viewers to consider the broader context of minstrel shows and 19th-century American music.
This is not the first time one of the nation’s most beloved Christmas songs has been challenged. In upstate New York, Council Rock Primary School faced public backlash after it decided to remove “Jingle Bells” from its annual holiday concert, citing concerns about its associations with “blackface” and minstrel performances. A 2017 academic article by Boston University professor Kyna Hamill is cited as the source for the song’s claimed racist origins.