What’s the Deal With Blackface?

During the Spring Festival (also known as the Chinese or Lunar New Year) gala of 2018, a Chinese actress dressed in a “black costume” for a small skit, where she played the role of black mom sending her daughter away to get married. Take a look at the photo above–does it not feel slightly uncomfortable and awkward? The same reaction occurred immediately among the online community. The play received more backlash than any other play that aired in the CNY festival.

This taboo act of “black-face” can be traced back to the 19th and 20th century, where minstrel shows in the United States had white actors paint their face black to mock black people for their low status. These plays featuring blackface actors usually aimed to portray blacks as lazy, stupid and sexually driven. They usually dressed up in costumes similar to what slaves wore on plantations.

This stereotypical acting and costumes were prominently demonstrated in “Jump Jim Crow”, a play by Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice. This show depicts blacks as slaves who use their wits to avoid work, further adding onto the lazy stereotype. After the establishment of Jim Crow’s caricature, people in the United States began to watch them for entertainment.

Given that the whole idea behind Blackface stems from mockery and humiliation, it is almost embarrassing for people to paint their face black, even for benevolent purposes as it reveals and reminds people of a dark past for African-American people.