Northwestern University Students in Blackface Spark Outrage

The issue of blackface in America continues to rear its ugly head. The latest comes from two white Northwestern University students who wore blackface for Halloween, which sparked campus-wide outrage after the pictures surfaced on Facebook. What's equally insensitive is the fact that one of the students covered himself in blackface and wore a T-shirt with the word "Jamaica" on it. The other dressed as a female tennis player in blackface, a stuffed bra and toting a tennis racket. The fact that this idiot could be so ignorant about Jamaica and its ethnic makeup is mind boggling. For those people who don't know, Jamaica is ethnically diverse, with Asians, people of African descent, Caucasians, Jews, Greeks, Arabs, Latinos, Indians, you name it, we have it. Many Jamaicans are of mixed ethnicity. So, to imply that all Jamaicans are black is just wrong. We can also recognize that the female tennis player is a dig at the Williams sisters.

Blackface was not meant to be a tribute to people of African descent in this country. It was meant to denigrate us, but it seems to have gone mainstream and I don't know if many of the people who wear blackface really understand the implications. I am hesitant to call them racists, but I would state that they are insensitive.

For the ignorant among us, blackface became very popular during the 19th century and was associated with certain archetypes of American racism, such as the "happy-go-lucky negro,""the dandified coon" and "the bumbling idiot." It was an important performance tradition in American theater for about 100 years, commencing around 1830 and quickly became popular overseas, most notably in Great Britain, where the tradition lasted even longer than in the United States. In minstrel shows, white blackface performers used burnt cork, greasepaint or shoe polish to blacken their skin and exaggerate their lips, wore woolly wigs, gloves, tailcoats or even tattered clothes to complete their racist transformation. What is sad is that later, blacks even performed in blackface. Bert Williams was the only black member of the Ziegfeld Follies when he joined in 1910. He wore blackface and was the highest paid African American performer of his day. Most notably in recent years, Spike Lee explored blackface in his movie "Bamboozled."

What's equally insensitive is the fact that Hollywood has embraced the negative connotations of blackface. Robert Downey Jr. played a blackface character in Ben Stiller's comedy "Tropic Thunder." There was no widespread outrage over that. Two of the Wayans brothers played whiteface females in "White Chicks," again no outrage. Eddie Murphy played a Jew in "Coming to America," again no outrage. The problem for me is that these negatives stereotypes embodied in the characters of blackface minstrelsy played a significant role in proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions that continue to dog us globally. The stereotypes that dog us today include a propensity to violence, stealing, fascination with material wealth and so on. The use of the word nigger is no longer taboo among many blacks. It's a part of their vocabulary. If you were to take a look at rap music in America, you will see that it has some elements of blackface. There are many rappers such as KRS-One who do not perpetuate negative stereotypes, but there are many others who do. The reality is that people like KRS-One don't appeal to the masses, others who perpetuate the negative stereotypes do.

It is unfortunate that blackface continues to dog us and that many who appear in such a costume don't realize how insensitive and offensive it is. I wrote about the recent case of a Commack High School senior dressing up as Aunt Jemima for Halloween and while I found his actions offensive, I didn't think it was racist. We must be of one accord in denouncing this horrible reminder of America's dark past. We have to work together to dispel these images, Hollywood included. It is not acceptable for anyone to engage in such a behavior -- white or black -- for the sake of hilarity or otherwise. It is offensive and borders on racist.