Blackface outrages a Northwestern student
The morning after Halloween is always kind of fuzzy. Perhaps that’s why I had to do a double take when I opened my inbox and found an email from the African American Freshman Activities Board. It wasn’t about an event we were sponsoring or some other kind of get-together. Instead, we were being notified that a Northwestern student thought that it would be funny to don blackface for Halloween.
My first thought was “you’ve got to be kidding me. Here?” I had a nauseous, fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach. This was the first time on campus that I’ve been sincerely disturbed by my peers’ behavior — I had thought that the Northwestern community was above this.
It’s not necessary to point out why blackface is so degrading to the black community. Kellyn Lewis already accomplished this in his excellent letter to the editor, “Lewis: Take a stand against “inexcusable” blackface” My concern is whether I was right to believe that Northwestern is really as progressive as it seems.
I knew when applying to Northwestern that there wouldn’t be too much diversity in terms of race, and that was okay. It was my dream school regardless, and as long as everyone was open-minded and accepting, there could still be diversity in a multitude of other ways.
Imagine my surprise when I became aware of the traces of racism that still plague our campus. I was now questioning the confidence I had about the type of students here when I was applying and my worst fears were being realized. The teasing I received from friends back home about standing out as a minority student was becoming all too real when such a disgusting act was done with impunity. To add insult to injury, I later learned that more than one person was involved, and that this was not the first time that this has happened here.
It can be hard being a black student at any elite, predominantly white university, but I don’t want to be bitter throughout my college career. I joined the AAFAB and National Association of Black Journalists with the intention of making connections within and outside the black community and using them as outlets for furthering my social and journalistic opportunities on campus. I don’t want these organizations to turn into my places of refuge. I see them as sources of celebration and discussion among the larger Northwestern community — not just where we figure out what to do about ignorant people.
I’ve thought about this experience in a couple of ways. First as a wake-up call to my naivety. Being a biracial girl from Washington, D.C., where diversity is a hallmark of the city, didn’t offer much exposure to stereotypes, ridicule and cruelness. I have learned that I will be in the presence of racism wherever I go in life, even among the brightest of people at the best of universities. Unfortunately, these are facts of life that I must accept.
Second, I need to use this experience to call attention to a larger issue at hand. Some people might see the concern as an overreaction, but silence is compliance. What happened is not acceptable by any means. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
I am upset by what happened on Halloween, but my hope is that if those involved are reading this, they understand their wrongdoing and will mature as a result. I still have faith in the Northwestern community because for the most part, Northwestern has been a welcoming, incredible place. Let’s try to keep it that way.
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Outraged? Read a letter about another student's opinion about the incident. Or you can return home.
“Some people might see the concern as an overreaction, but silence is compliance. What happened is not acceptable by any means.”
I hate to use your article to plug a related event, but the points that you have brought up are things that need to be discussed, and the Coalition of Colors and ASG are providing one venue (hopefully out of many that will come). THIS THURSDAY (11.05.09) @ 6PM in the Louis Room there will be a forum held on this incident of blackface and future action.
Thank you so much for taking a stance on this issue. Northwestern can no longer be complacent about these sort of occurrences.
(btw: Kellyn Lewis is a guy…)
Abby Chu
November 3, 2009 at 11:33 pm
not to dismiss this issue, but i think it’s important to note that not everyone knows what blackface is. i have no idea what the people dressing up actually looked like, but it might not have been meant to be offensive.
truthfully, when i learned about blackface i was surprised. i really had no idea that this existed, and if you had asked me before i knew about it i would have said that painting yourself in such a manner would be okay. obviously blackface is terrible and how it was portrayed in the past is disgusting and racist. but these guys really might not have known and might not have meant it in that way.
i mean, the wayans brothers did it for white chicks (painted themselves to appear of a different race) and no one seemed to mind…
alternatively they could be racist bastards in which case i’m sorry that i attend the same school as them.
sadly uneducated
November 4, 2009 at 12:28 am
good article. everyone should come to the forum on thursday.
and “sadly uneducated”, while i appreciate your honesty in admitting your lack of knowledge about blackface, it is erroneous to compare it to what the wayans brothers did in white chicks.
there is no such thing as whiteface. it has no historical or cultural meaning, and while i don’t particularly find it funny, it does not have the same meaning or implications as blackface. the wayans brothes did not use it in a way that perpetuated stereotypes designed to keep the white race in a position of submission, so, yeah, the two aren’t really the same at all.
cj
November 4, 2009 at 2:07 am
A Northwestern student dressed up as Bob Marley for Halloween. That’s not blackface. This is blackface:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Minstrel_PosterBillyVanWare_edit.jpg
If he had deliberately accentuated racial stereotypes and dressed as a generic black person or something in that nature, I’d see it as insensitive. He just dressed up as Bob Marley. Calm down and take a step back. Political correctness can only go so far.
This whole thing is ridiculous
November 4, 2009 at 1:33 pm
It happened last year, people. WAKE UP.
GET A CLUE
November 4, 2009 at 3:10 pm
what about costume shops that sell hitler, indian and mexican costumes?
what about?
November 4, 2009 at 5:15 pm
What about people who dress up as “Drunk Mexicans” with a poncho, sombrero, and a tequila bottle?!?!
Everyone
November 4, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I just found this photo posted on facebook from someone i went to high school with who goes to Miami University of Ohio:
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs055.snc3/14261_338156760110_655880110_9631201_2286745_n.jpg
wonder how Miami is handling the situation…
look at this
November 4, 2009 at 7:31 pm
fmo sounds like a lame fubu rip off
juan b.
November 5, 2009 at 12:03 am
as a northwestern law graduate and a black south african/american man, when i first heard of this incident, I was also flabbergasted. however, this is highly oversensitive response, Julia. furthermore, the intellectual elitism that the undertone of this piece seems to promote at northwestern is what i find interesting. what do you mean by “the Northwestern community was above this?” it’s news to you that racism exists among all people regardless of education, race, and socio-economic standing? while i agree with you that “silence is compliance,” this is an incident that i do not find newsworthy. simply put, this was not blackface.
...uh, bob marley is not blackface.
November 5, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I agree with the above. The costume was distasteful, just as distasteful as a Hitler or any other racist costume, but it was NOT blackface. I feel like being oversensitive to racism is just as detrimental as being overtly racist.
agree
November 5, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I don’t get it. Someone dressed up as Bob Marley. This is supposed to be offensive?
The world has gone INSANE.
Dressing up as a “black woman” or as “Bob Marley” isn’t blackface. Blackface is an entirely different thing.
People dress distastefully ALL the time on Halloween. This hardly takes the cake.
Bob Marley
November 5, 2009 at 10:11 pm
This video brings to light the issue in a pretty funny way.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/41ef04df3b/type-casting
Ziggy
November 9, 2009 at 6:42 pm
check this shit out http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/10/no-mask-no-problem-suspects-use-permanent-marker.html
Marco
November 19, 2009 at 12:43 am