By: Estelito Meneses
What would you do if your family was treated as a joke? Or treated like your entire existence is a costume or a joke? Well, such a thing wasn’t as rare in the 19th century--with Non-African American actors dressing as stereotypes of people of color. However, history repeats itself in the 21st century.
Yet, more specifically, what is blackface? Blackface is the act of a Non-African American person painting their face black/brown to replicate the image of a “black/brown person.” It is racist because people have been making fun of and treating it like it’s okay for example white students in CSU wearing blackface.
It is racist because people have been making fun of and treating it like it’s okay for example white students in CSU wearing blackface.
In a case from Independent News called, “Man wears blackface in court then launches bizarre rant about being ‘treated like a black man,” where it states that, “A man who was charged for attempted murder and assault in March over three stabbings in a fit of road rage his name is Mark Char.” When Mark Char went to court he wore blackface and when he was in the court he said, ‘he was treated like a black man.’
Blackface is not new in Canada, “Canada is prone to blackface with instances of practice dating back to the 1840s and continuing until the present day,” according to CBC News.
Another instance of blackface in Canada is from an article called CBC News ‘university published a timeline of Canadian blackface incidents, A study which documents at least 30 instances from 2005 to 2016.’
Another case of blackface is when Bed Bath & Beyond accidentally displayed a pumpkin that shows dark skin with white eyes and mouth, according to News 12 Winchester, “the black pumpkins were placed in a porch and neighbors soon saw the black pumpkins and were insulted.”
When Bed Bath & Beyond saw the complaints they soon apologized and said, “any offense was unintentional and that it ‘immediately removed’ pumpkins for sale”.
Another trend of blackface in Canada is when the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, wore blackface 3 times.
The first one is in a high school talent show. Justin Trudeau, on an article, published by USA Today said: “in the same remarks to reporters on the airplane Wednesday, Trudeau had admitted that he had once dressed up in a similar way during a high school talent show saying that he wore blackface to perform Day-O.”
Blackface was originated in the late 1830s and the first performer whoever wore blackface and turned it into a show was Thomas Dartmouth Rice (also known as Daddy rice and Jim Crow). Jim Crow is a famous character that shows stereotypical things about African American people.
The second encounter of Justin Trudeau wearing brown face was in 2001 according to ELLE News that stated, “He wore brown face to an Arabian night party at the West Point Grey Academy, the picture that I saw in ELLE News was in a yearbook and it showed that Trudeau wore brown face at the party.”
The third case of Justin Trudeau wearing blackface was in a video according to ELLE News, “the video shows Trudeau in ripped jeans, an afro, and finally blackface it lasts about 4 seconds.”
In conclusion, blackface is a bad thing to wear because if you wear for example white makeup and dress like a different race other than your own then that would be wrong because it would Insult the race.
Another reason that would make it wrong to wear black/brown face is that African Americans and Latinos/Latinas have suffered a lot more than other races, with African Americans and Latinos/Latinas being the major minorities in the 19th-21st century.
In my opinion, black/brown face is wrong for anyone to wear because it insults the race that you are making a mockery of.
For example, wearing black/brown faces and eating stereotypical things like African Americans eating chicken and drinking grape juice or Latinos/Latinas eating tacos and burritos.
Another example of doing stereotypical things about African Americans or Latinos/Latinas is African Americans playing basketball and Latinos/Latinas playing soccer. Racism isn’t a joke to make fun of it is a real and still present case. Just because blackface is something of the past, doesn't mean it’s okay to make fun of because it’s still lingering around the world.
What would you do if your family was treated as a joke? Or treated like your entire existence is a costume or a joke? Well, such a thing wasn’t as rare in the 19th century--with Non-African American actors dressing as stereotypes of people of color. However, history repeats itself in the 21st century.
Yet, more specifically, what is blackface? Blackface is the act of a Non-African American person painting their face black/brown to replicate the image of a “black/brown person.” It is racist because people have been making fun of and treating it like it’s okay for example white students in CSU wearing blackface.
It is racist because people have been making fun of and treating it like it’s okay for example white students in CSU wearing blackface.
In a case from Independent News called, “Man wears blackface in court then launches bizarre rant about being ‘treated like a black man,” where it states that, “A man who was charged for attempted murder and assault in March over three stabbings in a fit of road rage his name is Mark Char.” When Mark Char went to court he wore blackface and when he was in the court he said, ‘he was treated like a black man.’
Blackface is not new in Canada, “Canada is prone to blackface with instances of practice dating back to the 1840s and continuing until the present day,” according to CBC News.
Another instance of blackface in Canada is from an article called CBC News ‘university published a timeline of Canadian blackface incidents, A study which documents at least 30 instances from 2005 to 2016.’
Another case of blackface is when Bed Bath & Beyond accidentally displayed a pumpkin that shows dark skin with white eyes and mouth, according to News 12 Winchester, “the black pumpkins were placed in a porch and neighbors soon saw the black pumpkins and were insulted.”
When Bed Bath & Beyond saw the complaints they soon apologized and said, “any offense was unintentional and that it ‘immediately removed’ pumpkins for sale”.
Another trend of blackface in Canada is when the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, wore blackface 3 times.
The first one is in a high school talent show. Justin Trudeau, on an article, published by USA Today said: “in the same remarks to reporters on the airplane Wednesday, Trudeau had admitted that he had once dressed up in a similar way during a high school talent show saying that he wore blackface to perform Day-O.”
Blackface was originated in the late 1830s and the first performer whoever wore blackface and turned it into a show was Thomas Dartmouth Rice (also known as Daddy rice and Jim Crow). Jim Crow is a famous character that shows stereotypical things about African American people.
The second encounter of Justin Trudeau wearing brown face was in 2001 according to ELLE News that stated, “He wore brown face to an Arabian night party at the West Point Grey Academy, the picture that I saw in ELLE News was in a yearbook and it showed that Trudeau wore brown face at the party.”
The third case of Justin Trudeau wearing blackface was in a video according to ELLE News, “the video shows Trudeau in ripped jeans, an afro, and finally blackface it lasts about 4 seconds.”
In conclusion, blackface is a bad thing to wear because if you wear for example white makeup and dress like a different race other than your own then that would be wrong because it would Insult the race.
Another reason that would make it wrong to wear black/brown face is that African Americans and Latinos/Latinas have suffered a lot more than other races, with African Americans and Latinos/Latinas being the major minorities in the 19th-21st century.
In my opinion, black/brown face is wrong for anyone to wear because it insults the race that you are making a mockery of.
For example, wearing black/brown faces and eating stereotypical things like African Americans eating chicken and drinking grape juice or Latinos/Latinas eating tacos and burritos.
Another example of doing stereotypical things about African Americans or Latinos/Latinas is African Americans playing basketball and Latinos/Latinas playing soccer. Racism isn’t a joke to make fun of it is a real and still present case. Just because blackface is something of the past, doesn't mean it’s okay to make fun of because it’s still lingering around the world.