Blackface became prevalent in the 1830s. It involved many white actors in the Northern cities. It was less common in Southern areas where there was a greater population of African Americans. The development gave rise to the caricatures of African Americans after the civil war. Among these were "Zip Coon," who was stupid and vain, and "Master Juba," performed by William Henry Lane. Thomas Dartmouth Rice dressed up as "Jim Crow," a stereotype of a southern black man. The minstrel would travel across the country to spread his message and popularize the song "Jump Jim Crow". This is likely the reason why the term 'Jim Crow Law' was coined. After the aftermath of the civil war, from Birth of a Nation to Shirley Temple, blackface found itself ingrained in American culture.
Going back to Justin Trudeau, it is important to note that while Canada does not have the same history as the US, blackface emerged there soon after it did in the US. Even if Trudeau was ignorant of the history behind blackface, he should have known better. Dressing up as someone doesn't require one to adopt their same skin tone. There are plenty of costumes that are acceptable and do not involve ethnicity or race at all. Blackface has never been about dressing up, but rather as a way to belittle minorities. By educating people on the origins of blackface, people will be less likely to dismiss it as such.
Sources:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47125474
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49760160
- https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/ralph-northam-and-the-history-of-blackface
- https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/blackface-birth-american-stereotype
- https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/02/us/racist-origins-of-blackface/index.html
I agree with your point that if we are able to educate youth today about blackface, its origins, and the consquences it can have, then the likley hood of people dressing up in this derogetory costume will greatly decrease. Going back to Trudeau and other politicans who have been nationally critized, I think they grew up in a very different time period where they were not exposed to the same social values as we are as youth today. I am by no means saying what they did was right, but at the time I don't think there was quite the same stigma about it either. One question I want to bring up though. Should we hold these people accountable for a decision they made in a very different time period and culture, or should we be able to look at them and understand that as culture has changed, so have they?
ReplyDeleteI think we should hold people accountable for decisions they made during a different time period, especially if it was not an isolated incident. For example, I agree Trudeau did blackface during a different time period when overt racism was more acceptable. However, I think it is still necessary to bring up his blackface costume today. We need to make sure he understands that it was wrong to do that and that he isn’t still participating in racist gestures. If it was just that one picture of him dressed as “Aladdin,” I would say this decision years ago shouldn’t ruin his career. He wasn’t displaying any discriminatory views; he was probably just being young and stupid. However, this is not the only time he did that. There is also a video of him in blackface and a curly wig sticking his tongue out, and there is a picture of him dressing up in blackface to perform the “Banana Boat Song” about Jamaicans loading bananas into boats in a talent show. Because Trudeau’s blackface was not an isolated incident and these other pictures and videos involve discrimination and mocking, I think he deserves serious consequences, such as losing the re-election for Prime Minister. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10027422/justin-trudeau-blackface-video/
ReplyDeleteI believe that what they were doing was very wrong and they should have been punished for doing this even though this was at the time when racism was a big thing. They should have had a limit on what types of costumes were being sold because this should have not been sold in the first place. To answer Crissman question I strongly believe that this people that did this things should have been accountable for there actions because they knew what they were doing and even though this was at a period of time that racism seemed right they should have still not had the right to get this far where they dressed up as colored people. Instead of them thinking it was fine there should have been a limit on these types of things.
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