The sudden hysteria over Virginia Governor Northam's blackface/Klan medical school yearbook photo (as well as his admission that he'd darkened his skin to do a Michael Jackson routine in the 1980's) has made me think more about blackface than I ever wanted to. But let's go back to the yearbook photo for a moment. At first Northam apologized for the picture appearing on his page and acknowledged (I thought) being one of the two people shown in the photo although he didn't identify which one he was (the dude in blackface or the dude in the Klan outfit). Then, a day later, he denied he was either of the men in the photo which led me to wonder, what's worse? Appearing in blackface or appearing in a Klan getup? Also, what I think has been lost in this conversation is the responsibility of the medical school. Who puts out a medical school yearbook with pictures of students in Klan robes and hoods and blackface? What the hell kind of school is this??? And this wasn't in the 1950's or 60's. This was freaking 1984! Come on! No one looked at this tomfoolery and thought that maybe these photos were inappropriate? Ridiculous.
As for blackface in general, just say no. Don't do it. I don't care if you want to look like Shaq or Diana Ross for Halloween or whatever, go with the clothing, but skip the makeup.
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