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The History Of Racist Carnival Games Like ‘African Dodger’ — Which Evolved Into The Dunk Tanks Still Used Today
The History Of Racist Carnival Games Like ‘African Dodger’ — Which Evolved Into The Dunk Tanks Still Used Today For decades, dunk tanks have been fixtures of the American carnival. This popular game requires either a volunteer patron or a carnival worker to sit on a seat suspended above a tank of water. Patrons then pay to throw projectiles at a target — and if they hit it, the person in the seat will fall into the water. And though the dunk tank seems perfectly innocent, its real history is much darker than most people realize. Up until the 1950s, a game called African Dodger invited patrons to throw baseballs, eggs, and rocks at the heads of Black men in order to win prizes. Over time, African Dodger evolved into African Dip, which is nearly identical to the dunk tank games beloved by many Americans to this day. Visit the link in our profile to learn more about the horrific history of African Dodger, the racist "game" that was once a hallmark of American carnivals. Fro