blackface, “protected by/ went beyond free speech”.

Our Columnists
Ralph Northam Can’t See Himself in the Picture



One open question, beyond the baseline of blackface awfulness, is the extent to which the Virginia governor used a caricature as a vehicle for making a mockery of blackness itself.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
The New Yorker Interview
Ralph Northam and the History of Blackface



Eric Lott, a teacher of American studies at cuny, discusses blackface’s historical role in American politics, culture, and racism.
By Isaac Chotiner

Blackface

Description

Blackface is a form of theatrical make-up used predominantly by non-black performers to represent a caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation" or the "dandified coon". Wikipedia





blackface
1.a sheep of a breed with a black face.
2.make-up used by a non-black performer playing a black role.

Guardian US

When a white student at California State University was caught this month wearing blackface, administrators had a clear message: it was racist, but “protected by free speech”.

Days later, when a professor tweeted that the late Barbara Bush was a “racist”, the university’s tone was different: the faculty member would be investigated for her remarks, which, a campus president said, went “beyond free speech”.

Blackface is free speech but anti-Bush tweet is not at California university

State school system accused of ‘glaring hypocrisy’ after initially saying…

THEGUARDIAN.COM