Blackface is still alive and well in the US
01/11/2018
Instead, a painful debate about the history of race in America that is more than a century in the making is revived.
US journalist Megyn Kelly got fired over it. After she made comments on air that appeared to condone the use of blackface in Halloween costumes, a major backlash ensued, and she lost her NBC talk show.
The problematic custom dates back to about 1830, and so-called minstrel shows where white performers caked their faces in greasepaint or shoe polish and drew on exaggerated lips.
Blackface is racist. I don't care how well intentioned you are.
Kelechi Okafor (@kelechnekoff) October 28, 2018
Why do white people not understand that it's A : not hard to avoid blackface and B : that it's literally not effecting your life in any way, shape or form having people find it racist. What are YOU losing from it not being acceptable :/ ?
Jaye (@Jayesophine) October 30, 2018
The stereotypes portrayed - that blacks were somehow inferior, ignorant, lazy and even animalistic - cemented racist attitudes for decades. Some of those images still exist today.
Blackface was used to depict African Americans as not human, to justify and normalize and sanction violence, David Leonard, a professor at Washington State University who has written extensively on the subject, told AFP.
A well-known white actor in minstrel shows, Thomas Rice, popularised the form. One of his characters was Jim Crow' - he claimed to have been inspired by a slave who was handicapped.
AND WITHOUT BLACKFACE !!! SEE HOW EASY IT IS !!! https://t.co/RumxXIFwj4
Misster Quad (@KingShady__) October 28, 2018
Who was in charge of sending out the White House all staff email reminding the administration not to show up in blackface Halloween costumes tomorrow?
Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) October 31, 2018
The name later was attached to laws that codified racial segregation in the United States. The history of blackface is one of violence, one of demonization, one of racism, Leonard said.
Terrible mistake' Despite the recurring controversies about the use of blackface, Kelly slammed what she called the costume police on the 23 October live episode of Megyn Kelly Today in a segment about Halloween outfits.
I mean, truly political correctness has gone amok. There are strict rules on what you may and may not wear issued by someone who thinks they're the boss of you, said Kelly, who is white.
This year, the costume police are cracking down like never before, she added, one week before the annual festivities for Halloween, which is celebrated on Wednesday.
What is racist? Because, truly, you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween.
It was not her first controversial comments about race. In 2013, when she was a news anchor at Fox, Kelly sparked anger when she said that Santa Claus and Jesus Christ were white.
Her latest comments sparked outrage, online and within her own workplace.
While she apologized to the staff, she owes a bigger apology to folks of color around the country, said veteran NBC weatherman Al Roker, who is black.
Gayle King, a black news presenter at CBS, said: She made a terrible mistake.
Her apology came quickly but the damage was done - and compounded by her falling ratings. Three days after the original comments, Megyn Kelly Today was pulled from the air, not to return.
Also Read: Are today's white kids less racist than their grandparents?
My white nephew went to school as Jackie Robinson, without blackface. pic.twitter.com/H7F7izDPku
Cheryl Raye Stout (@Crayestout) October 31, 2018
Everyday racism' For Leonard, Kelly's comments are only a symptom of a bigger problem - the persistent denial on the part of many Americans of an unseemly part of their history, and entrenched white privilege.
It's a refusal to confront the history of racism in this country and refusing how race matters today. We as white people should be listening to African Americans who say this hurts, this injures, this causes not only emotional pain but it has consequences. Those consequences are felt in everyday racism but also in persistent inequalities.
The university professor said the current political climate is not helpful in resolving such issues, especially with a president - Donald Trump - who continues to leverage a white grievance politics.
Look at that. No Blackface. It can be done .. and done WELL!! This is AWESOME! #ComingToAmerica #NoBlackfaceHalloween pic.twitter.com/3n5fOzomGb
Tracie Thoms (@traciethoms) October 29, 2018
The controversy over blackface bleeds into other issues, like the simmering debate over Confederate statues and monuments, and whether they should remain standing or be removed.
This should be the beginning of a conversation. We must have a reckoning in this country, said black political commentator Roland Martin, who was invited onto Kelly's show the day after her comments.
You can dress up like Diana Ross. Just don't put no damn black paint on your face, he added, referring to a cast member of The Real Housewives of New York who wore a giant wig and darker make-up.
Luann de Lesseps later apologised, saying the make-up was tanning cream and saying: I didn't mean to offend anyone.
As for a Missouri woman who posted a photo of herself in blackface as Beyonce, she was fired from her job as a hospital nurse.
Tags: halloweenracismracistUnited States
LINK: | https://www.thesouthafrican.com/blackface-alive-in-usa/... |
See more stories from thesouthafrican |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
Global Telecom & Pay TV Services Market to Slowdown in 2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. The International Data Corporation is predicting that worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services will increase by 1.4% in 2024 to...
08/05/2024
Apple Unveils New iPad Live Multicam Production Studio
CUPERTINO, Calif. In a notable development for news and live video production, Apple has unveiled a number of significant upgrades to its Final Cut Pro software...
08/05/2024
Pliant Technologies to Showcase New Smartboom Lite Headset at InfoComm 2024
Pliant Technologies has announced that it will be presenting its new SmartBoom LITE Headset at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C5116). The latest updates include enhanceme...
08/05/2024
Tubi Launches 'Stubios' to Encourage Aspiring Filmmakers
SAN FRANCISCO Fox's ad-supported streaming service Tubi has launched Stubios, a fan-fueled studio for aspiring filmmakers and their fans that the company sa...
08/05/2024
Five More Stations Launch NextGen TV In San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Five more stations have launched NextGen TV service, bringing to nine the number of local TV services on-air with ATSC 3.0....
08/05/2024
Tegna Names Greg Retsinas President & GM of KGW in Portland
TYSONS, Va. Tegna Inc. has announced that Greg Retsinas has been named president and general manager at KGW, Tegna's NBC affiliate serving the Portland area...
08/05/2024
Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA
08 05 2024 - Media release Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: ...
08/05/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network Brie Clayton May 7, 2024 0 Comments Atlas software-defined platform now available via AWS trusted partner network...
08/05/2024
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects Graham Quince May 7, 2024 0 Comments Arguably the best video use for AI generated images is Matte Painting...
08/05/2024
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects Andy Ford May 7, 2024 0 Comments The Throw expression is a time-saver in After Effects. It allows you to mov...
08/05/2024
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more Brie Clayton May 7, 2024 0 Comments Thursday 30th May, from 2:30PM, Hosted by Alter Ego 488 ...
08/05/2024
Gray TV Reports $75 Million in Net Income for Second Quarter
Gray Television reported a first-quarter profit as advertising revenues rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 levels....
08/05/2024
Meghan Trainor, Bleachers, Chance the Rapper Lined Up for Today' Summer Concert Series
The Today show shared the performers on its summer concert series, which feature...
08/05/2024
Lewis Dodley, Spectrum News NY1 Anchor Since Its Launch, Sets Retirement
Lewis Dodley, longtime anchor for Spectrum News NY1, will retire at the end of May. He's been on the air at the Charter Communications-owned local news chan...
08/05/2024
Scripps Sets Studio Shows for Ion's WNBA Friday Nights
Scripps Sports said it plans to air a new studio show when a new season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight starts May 24....
08/05/2024
NBCUniversal Will Pitch a Combination of Content, Tech in Upfront
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniv...
08/05/2024
Doireann Garrihy to leave RT 2FM
RT has today announced that Doireann Garrihy has decided to leave RT 2FM after five years. Doireann will present her final 2FM Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha...
08/05/2024
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to Deliver Keynote Ahead of COMPUTEX 2024
Amid an AI revolution sweeping through trillion-dollar industries worldwide, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver a keynote address ahead of COMPUTE...
08/05/2024
AI Decoded: New DaVinci Resolve Tools Bring RTX-Accelerated Renaissance to Editors
AI tools accelerated by NVIDIA RTX have made it easier than ever to edit and wor...
08/05/2024
May 07, 2024
Professor emeritus John (Jack) Johnson elected to the National Academy of Sciences Johnson's multi-disciplinary research has been instrumental in shaping ou...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&SCLIPSTER
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
NAB Show 2024 Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management. Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
Paul Whitehouse takes viewers through The Sketch Show Years in new 4-part series on Gold
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
Your Guide to Having a Jam-Packed Sundance Institute Summer
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News Media releases NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
Network flexibility: A Vital Consideration for SATCOM Resiliency
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
L3Harris Avionics Repair Station Becomes the First in U.S. to Be Awarded European Military Airworthiness Certification
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
Clear-Com Celebrates Theatre Triumphs in Light of 2024 Tony Award Nominations
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
macOS Ventura Compatible
Share this article width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg /> wid...
07/05/2024
Disney Streaming DTC Operations Produce Their First Profits
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, Jen Psaki Share Books and Workplace Lessons at 92nd Street Y
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus Orders Tracy Morgan Comedy Set in World of The Neighborhood'
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Daytime Emmys Announce Lifetime Achievement Recipients
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
Al Roker, Wendy McMahon, Stephen A. Smith Set for Giants of Broadcasting Honors
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Debuts New Weekday Schedule
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
Disney Entertainment DTC Business Gets Out of the Red in Q2
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
Victor Wembanyama, Top NBA Rookie, Featured On Pass The Rock'
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak Rebrands as Zeam Media After Streaming Platform Rollout
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Magnolia Pictures Licenses Content To Stream on Samsung TV Plus
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon Rolling Out Interactive Commercial Formats for Prime Video (Upfronts)
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak Now Zeam Media
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
Maximising resources: Keys to POST Luxembourg's success in the evolving media landscape
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
Survey: Amazon's Push into Ad-Supported Streaming Is Working
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation Unveils the 2024 Award Recipients
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
Lindsey Reiser Joins CBS News 24/7 as Anchor and Correspondent
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
Tablet Shipments Show Signs of Recovery in Q1
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN Pulls in Highest April Prime Time Audiences on Record
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....