Recently, I was on the Facebook page of an acquaintance of mine when something wholly bizarre and disturbing caught my eye...
The profile picture of the man she is dating showed him in black face. Yes THAT kind of black face. Fuckin' Al Jolson type shit.
I figured my eyes were playing tricks on me, so I examined the image closer. Yep. It was him in black face....wearing gold teeth, a wig with braids and mulit-colored beads on the ends, a cap with a marijuana leaf and thick gold chains.
Of course, I was heated, but instead of starting a war of words on someone else's Facebook wall (who I didn't really know), I brought it up to someone I was close to at the time who also happened to be friends with the black face offender. Here is the appalling shit I found out:
The black face offender (who will be called 'BFO' from now on) claimed he had never heard of the term 'back face'. Never knew the history behind it and didn't know that it was offensive to black people. He was dressed like Lil Wayne for Halloween in the photo in question. He thought it was funny.
 |
| The real Lil' Wayne |
He and his roommate dressed like Venus and Serena Williams for Halloween one year. They even padded their butts to make them look cartoonishly large and round.
The people who are friends with this guy are also friends or acquaintances of mine and I am a big believer that your friends are a reflection of you...at least in some ways. I believe this, because people choose their friends. Even if they end up in your life by default somehow, if you let them stay and give them the privilege of your time, then you've chosen them. There are no coincidences.
The person I talked to about this (a minority but not a black person and friend of the BFO) was open to hearing my point of view and admitted to being terribly uncomfortable when he saw this 'costume'. (He was at that fool's Halloween party). I was shocked that he hung out at the party, having drinks and laughs while that Idiot #1 and his roommate, Idiot #2, walked around in black face because they thought it was funny. To whom? Who were they trying to entertain??
A couple of weeks later, I heard that the BFO commented on the Facebook wall of one of his friends and another person who saw the disgusting photo next to his post did what I chose not to do. He started a war of words on the person's wall and then the shit storm began.
There were actually people defending the BFO: "You're a good person. You could never be racist! Don't listen to these people." This came from white AND black people.
This ignorant shit from a black male: "Man I friended you on Facebook because you were dressed as Lil Wayne!"
There was outrage: "I will never believe that you didn't know anything about black face. You should remove this picture immediately!" This also came from black AND white people.
And there was white hot fury from the shit storm starter: "Saying you didn't know about black face after wearing it repeatedly is like putting on a white sheet with a pointy hood and then saying you've never heard of the Klu Klux Klan!" Fucking fine point, sir.
About this vapid display of racism cloaked in comedy: Before this incident, I really thought these people were better people than this. They are not.
Even if they're out saving the whales and driving the trucks to deliver food to starving Haitians, this incident calls their character into question. Where was their intellectual curiosity about other people and cultures? Where was the BFO's empathy toward the people he dressed up as (6 TIMES!) because he thought it was FUNNY to dress as a black person?
Why didn't his friends and girlfriend tell him the truth instead of letting him feel like it's okay? Fucking SCRUBS...they're out of my life.
So for anyone who doesn't know about the history of black face and you actually have an intellectual curiosity about this dark chapter in our history, check this out. (And I said OUR history because black history IS American history.)
The fascination with the voluptuous backsides of black women has a dark history as well. Ever hear of Sara Baartman? Watch this and get out your tissues.
Think black face is a thing of the past? Nope. It has evolved in the same way racism has evolved. It's subtle, but the buffoonery and humiliation is still the trademark...
And it's NOT cute. You guys know how I feel about the cuteness!
Until next time, peace and love, y'all.
Shaun.SexyCasualCool@gmail.com
