Or “Now, come on, boys! Where’s your spirit? I don’t hear no singin’. When you was slaves, you sang like birds. Go on, how ‘bout a good ol’ n-—— work song?”
Maybe just start handing them stuff and say “Please take this away for me” and maybe ask for refills on bread and water. That kind of stuff. Or “Hey I love black people. That little guy who played Buckwheat in the Little Rascals? Al Jolsen in The Jazz Singer?” “And hey if you’re in trouble, Margaret Sanger has a planned parenthood down the street to take care of you guys.”
I’d buy drinks for the rest of the night for anyone with the huevos to do that!
Last week, I was in a restaurant that has an autographed photo of that actor on display. I had "Camptown Ladies" stuck in my head for the rest of the day. :-)