NATIONWIDE — With the announcement from Feld Entertainment of the return of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in 2022, pioneer African American clown Danise Payne speaks out. From an Air Force family whose patriarch was an original Tuskegee Airman to a champion of achievement herself, Payne defeats obstacles and instills pride in Black youth.
“In the early days, circuses exhibited African Americans as freaks. P. T. Barnum presented William Henry Johnson as the ‘Man-Monkey’ or ‘The What Is It?’—the link between ape and man,” Ms. Payne states. “Since blackface comedy snared us into the role of the lazy buffoon, most Black performers were relegated to minstrel shows.”
Payne shares a firsthand account of the circus from a Black perspective in her new memoir entitled Elbows in My Ears: My Life with Little People, Tigers, and Wardrobe Trunks (released on August 1, 2022). This intimate look into her chosen field reveals the reality of being Black and female in a male-dominated line of work. Danise discloses the means she used to endure and to flourish: devotion and a funny bone. Such were the pillars of her life as a circus clown and are useful in today’s world.
“If you’re a rarity in a society not used to your face, you’ll have a chance to tear down strongholds—whether you want to or not,” says Danise. “My out-of-the-ordinary career allowed that.”
The book is currently available on Amazon and from all other major book retailers.
About the Author
Danise Payne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and is a circus clown with twenty-five years’ experience. She graduated from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1978 and toured with the Red and Blue Units of The Greatest Show on Earth. She has performed with five circuses and became the first Black woman clown in a circus in Europe. Ms. Payne received the Community Service Award from Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, Inc. and was featured in Ebony Magazine, on Entertainment Tonight, and NBC’s Today Show. She is a member of The Circus Fans Association of America, the Circus Historical Society, and the Screen Actors Guild.