The GOP took heat for its Black History Month tweet. The Democrats’ inadvertent BHM message wasn’t much better.
Showing posts with label blackface parties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blackface parties. Show all posts
Sunday, February 03, 2019
Saturday, September 27, 2014
12105: Blackface Match.
Students who wore blackface to portray Venus and Serena accused of racism
By Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG — Two white students in South Africa who painted their faces dark to portray Venus and Serena Williams at a costume party have been accused of racism in a country whose painful history of white rule is still vigorously debated.
Stellenbosch University said Thursday that it was investigating the case after being informed about a photograph on Twitter that showed two of its students posing as the tennis stars. It noted social media reaction that mentioned “blackface,” which was common in old American minstrel shows featuring white performers as stereotyped black characters.
The university said it disapproved of any action that could cause offense but noted “various views and opinions” about the matter and did not want to jump to conclusions pending the outcome of the investigation.
The photograph shows two men in sports clothes, holding a tennis racket. One, in a mini-skirt, is wearing a blond wig. Their faces and arms are smeared with a dark substance.
In a statement, the two students and another student who posted the photograph said they aimed to portray two sports stars without “malicious or racial intent,” and that they regret their error in judgment.
Their action “has been associated with ‘blackfacing,’ which we now know is a disparaging practice used to portray offensive racial stereotypes, and we cannot stress enough that this was not our intent,” said the students, who identified themselves as Ross Bartlett, Mark Burman and Michael Weaver.
They said they were attending a Sept. 20 birthday party where people were encouraged to dress up as successful twins.
Some students at Stellenbosch University think the three students involved in the costume controversy should be expelled, while others dismiss the incident as a mistake that should not be taken seriously, the student council said.
The council condemned “blackfacing” and said a disciplinary panel should evaluate a case that has touched on old racial sensitivities in South Africa. The country held its first all-race election in 1994 at the end of white rule, known as apartheid.
“We acknowledge that there is a great deal of unresolved hurt, reaching far beyond the actions of these individuals,” the council said.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
11521: Out Of Africa—And Out Of Mind.
From The New York Daily News...
Woman slammed for ‘Africa themed’ party photos showing guests painted black, wearing jungle costumes
The woman, identified only as Olivia, posted several pics from the party to Facebook showing guests in offensive and cartoonish costumes, including black paint, tribal makeup and animal print loincloths.
By Philip Caulfield / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
An Australian woman is being skewered online for hosting an “African themed” 21st birthday party featuring guests in blackface and cartoonish jungle costumes.
The woman, identified only as Olivia, posted several insensitive pics from the party to Facebook in September, but they went viral after Tumblr user Black in Asia spotted them and reposted them last week.
Guests at the bash partied in black or brown body paint, George of the Jungle-style costumes and cheetah-print loincloths, the photos showed.
Others wore dreadlock wigs, tribal-style paint and other mock-traditional garb.
One guest inexplicably donned a hooded Klu Klux Klan costume.
“Attendees were all asked to wear ‘African themed’ clothing to depict the continent and this is what resulted… blackface, elephant and gorilla costumes, warpaint, native American headdresses (?!) and more…. I’m at a loss for words,” Tumblr user Black in Asia wrote.
“And yes, this is from 2013.”
Jezebel called the pics “revolting and offensive.”
The young woman later took to Tumblr to defend herself.
“It was my ‘African themed’ party and it was honestly made that theme because I have always wanted to go to Africa (to teach english) but haven’t made it there yet,” she wrote.
“In no way was this party intended to hurt anyones (sic) feelings or upset anyone at all.”
“However, some guest did decide to paint themselves, although this was in no way my intention or encouraged in the slightest. I understand that this has offended some people and I have no idea how these photos have even been seen, they were simply put on facebook for my guests to see the photos of themselves,” she wrote.
She later described a friend from Mauritius, an island nation off Africa’s eastern coast, who painted himself white for the party but wasn’t pictured in Black In Asia’s post.
She insisted that no one was offended by his costume choice.
She also denied Black in Asia’s assertion that she “flatly refused” to take the pics down after someone complained.
“Also, I have NEVER been asked to take these photos down, however if I had of course I would have done so, as I had no idea that anyone other than friends and guests could see these photos…” she wrote.
“For those who know me at all you would know the last thing in the world I would want to do would be to offend people.”
Her Facebook and other social media accounts have since been deleted, news.com.au reported.
Friday, November 25, 2011
9539: Wigging Out With Bing.
Bing celebrates The Annual Flaunting of the Wigs—yet aren’t most folks using the search engine to find Afro wigs for Blackface parties?
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