'North
American Black people have a zero tolerance policy toward any
manifestation of white people in blackface, whether it is maliciously racist or not.
We don't care if you are a drag performer, a model doing a high fashion photo shoot, somebody doing
so as a badly thought out Halloween costume or drunken white college
kids perpetuating negative stereotypes of African descended people in
the name of fun and frivolity. You need to get it through your
vanillacentric privileged minds blackface is offensive to African
descended people and there is no justification in our chococentric minds
for doing so.'
--TransGriot July 7, 2013 I Repeat: White People Doing Blackface Drag Is Not Acceptable, Period!
With Halloween fast approaching, we have had increased sightings of vanillacentric privileged people in blackface and when they get justifiably called out on it, have other clueless white peeps trying to come to their defense about it.
Blackface was used to demean and dehumanize African-Americans for almost 2 centuries, and non-white folks are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of having this discussion about blackface and why we have a zero tolerance policy toward it.
Julianne Hough is only the latest white person to find out the hard way just how much we hate blackface. Or was she not paying attention when we called out everybody from Ted Danson to college students majoring in disrespect for doing so?
Yes Julianne, we get it you love the show Orange Is The New Black. But you had plenty of other characters you could dress up as like Pennsyltucky, Piper and Red for example. Why Crazy Eyes?
"I am a huge fan of the show Orange is the New black, actress Uzo Aduba,
and the character she has created,” she wrote. “It certainly was never
my intention to be disrespectful or demeaning to anyone in any way. I
realize my costume hurt and offended people and I truly apologize."
But this wasn't the lone instance of well known white people donning black face. Check out what designers Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Paula Cademartori and others did at a fashion industry Halloween party in Milan with a 'Disco Africa' theme.
Any wonder why the catwalks at the fall and spring fashion shows are always overwhelmingly walked by white models?
Bottom line, say no to blackface, because your azz will be called out about it.
Read the next line and commit it to memory for Halloween and beyond.
My
people and my culture are not costumes for you put on for your or your
people's entertainment and amusement. And when we call your azz out
about it, you don't get to tell me as the offended POC party what is and
isn't offensive or to 'lighten up' about it.
Blackface is not appropriate for Halloween or ANY day.
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