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Halloween is this Saturday. On Sunday, we’ll wake up to a story that reads like this: A photo has surfaced on social media, showing a (probably white, but definitely not black) person wearing blackface as part of their (black person) costume, igniting a firestorm.
Always a firestorm. It never fails.
Every Halloween, blackface and its racist origins become a topic of a national conversation — and not because people are suddenly interested in learning about the history of racial oppression in the U.S. No, it’s because a lot of people, sadly, still believe this masquerading of blackness is OK.
In fact, 60 percent of white Americans think people should wear whatever they want on Halloween, even if others find it offensive, according to a recent HuffPost/YouGov survey. And a majority of white Americans — 52 percent — think that painting your skin black for Halloween is just fine.
We weren’t even going to write a story this year about blackface. We weren’t going to take the time to explain that for so many black Americans, blackface carries unavoidable associations of hate, violence and degradation, and that if you choose to wear it, you’re basically broadcasting the message “I don’t give a shit about black people’s feelings.” We weren’t going to write that story. But uh, apparently we need to. So before painting yourself with bronzer or black facepaint, please consider the history of blackface. And if you still want to afterward, well, knock yourself out. Literally. Please punch yourself in the face until you’re unconscious.
