Charles Callender was the owner of blackface minstrel troupes that featured African-American performers.
Although a tavern owner by trade, he entered show business in 1872, when he purchased Sam Hague's Slave Troupe of Georgia Minstrels.
[citation needed] Renaming them Callender's Original Georgia Minstrels, he and his business manager, Charles Hicks, followed the lead of other showmen such as J. H. Haverly and advertised the troupe far and wide.
[citation needed] Despite the revenues brought in by his star performers, including such talents as Bob Height, Billy Kersands, and Pete Devonear, Callender ignored their demands for more pay and better recognition.
[citation needed] The issue came to public attention for its racial implications, and most of the performers who had left eventually returned to Callender.