[BLOG] Let’s Talk About Blackface, Kids.
Small murmurs from the class as the professor saunters up to the front to switch on the projector. The film begins before she can get back to her seat fast enough. It’s a silent film so you brace yourself for the impending title cards with the small font. “The Birth of A Nation” begins and for two hours you are in your seat, in a class full of mainly white kids, watching the most racist imagery you have ever seen in your life. Awkward, right?
Watching that film and many others like it made me understand the horrors of blackface that a social studies class couldn’t do justice.
If you’ve never seen “The Birth of A Nation,” lemme rewind a bit. “The Birth of A Nation” was a film made in 1915 about the Civil War and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s a film that I’ve seen many times over in film classes because of it’s progressive filmmaking. It’s often referenced as one of the most influential films of all time. Now that’s hard to swallow, even as a filmmaker, because of it’s cruel racist imagery. There are plenty black characters in the film (obviously), however, none are actually played by black people. Not only that, but think of every negative stereotype associated with black culture and you are likely to see that in this film.
I bring up this film because well for one this is a film blog and two I don’t want to bring the hammer down necessarily on folks who do not understand why it is not okay no matter what season we’re in to wear blackface. When I was in middle school, there wasn’t really a comprehensive lesson on blackface. I knew it was bad, but it wasn’t until I saw this film that I was truly disgusted and felt the pain of it.
Blackface is an exploitation of the African-American culture to perpetuate racist archetypes. Blackface was often performed in American theater to the amusement of whites and what they thought to be an exact portrayal of what black life is.
Every Halloween, we do this song and dance with folks who are eager to dip their skin in paint or wax and go as a black character and not understand the negatives of that. At this time in cinema or even pop culture, you do not need to be in blackface to compliment your costume. If you are going as a celebrated character in film or popular their color doesn’t even matter. I saw an Asian man dressed as King Jaffe Joffer and I knew exactly who he was without wearing blackface. If your costume needs the assistance of blackface so people know who you’re trying to be then throw the shit in the trash and go as the Scream guy because clearly you failed.
Most of the costumes I’ve seen in blackface would be recognizable without the extra added dash of racism. Cut the shit. All of it is pure ignorance and for the black folks comparing White Chicks to this, I just gave you an example of a film made in 1915. Watch it in it’s entirety then let’s talk about why those two films are portraying two different attitudes. (For the record, I HATE White Chicks and wish it were never made).
I feel like most of the people who will read this already KNOW blackface is wrong so please share this as much as you can. Education is a powerful thing.