The Rookery

“People have perpetuated blackface because we don’t teach minstrel history. If these people had ever been exposed to it in a safe classroom environment, they would know better.”  This statement from Rhae Lynn Barnes, a professor of American cultural history at Princeton, struck home for me this weekend.  I had never talked directly about blackface with the Herons – and while I had intimated that it was "inappropriate" to wear an afro, I had not explained why.  But it was a conversation we were ready to have.  We talk a lot about race and stereotypes.  We've talked about the systemic and long term economic effects of slavery and Jim Crow.

I started by defining blackface and sharing the current Virginia legislature controversy.  And then I shared some of the history of the minstrel in America and how the image of the happy slave was used to fight abolition (and, later, the stereotype of laziness and backwardness was used to justify racism and white supremacy.)  White folks darkening their faces to pretend to be black and act and sing in plays that re-enforced stereotypes was a way to make racism "OK." I shared some images from the Jazz Singer and more modern blackface portrayals like Soul Man (NYT 2/9/2019)

After I shared some historical background, the Herons were (of course) full of questions.  Did blackface include wearing an afro?  We talked about the origin of the word and students realized that it did include that.  We talked about how sometimes people don't know better and that's why it's important that they know why it's not OK so they can help others understand as they get older.  They made a connection to this fall's Hitler salute in Wisconsin and how some kids there claimed they didn't know what they were doing.

One student asked if it would be OK to wear a black mask for a Star Wars costume.  "Like Darth Vader?" I asked.  "No…like Lando Calrissian" (a character from Empire Strikes Back played by Billy Dee Williams — or, if you're not quite as old as me, Donald Glover in Solo.) Hmmm.  We talked about it as a class and decided that it definitely wouldn't be OK to wear darker makeup but a full face mask? ("Star Wars Masks", by the way, is a very interesting Internet search.)  Given the specific and very hurtful nature of White people portraying Blacks, we decided that just wearing the costume and not doing anything to one's face was a better bet – a full mask might not offend, but it might and that's what you're trying to avoid.

Another student asked if there was such thing as whiteface.  We agreed that it wouldn't be the same because there wouldn't be a connection to minstrels and that kind of propaganda.  But the concept of making one's face lighter touched on colorism and concepts of beauty in different cultures.  We talked about melanin and evolution and human migration.

Whew.  And that was all in fifteen minutes!  I urge you to continue these conversations at home with your Heron.  They are so ready to explore some of these ideas and they'll be well versed to lead the conversations when their peers want to dress as the Jackson 5 or want to have a "Ghetto spirit day" as happened in Hopkins a few years ago.  I

Conversations about race are never easy…but they do get easier.  Much like talking to kids about puberty and relationships, the more often one has a conversation, the less awkward it seems.  I'm very grateful for the professional development we've gotten to help us deepen our own understanding of race in America — it makes me feel more prepared to field questions, but never perfectly prepared.  But that's what makes it a conversation and not a lecture.