How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism

https://www.history.com/news/blackface-history-racism-origins

I chose this article as my Day 3 post because of how crucial examining “Blackface” is for our communities and its origin in history. In my second year as an Administrator, our student body challenged each other to increase our school energy during sporting events with various themed days. On this particular evening, the student body decided to have a “Black Out”. As the night event approached and the kids gathered for our march towards the stadium. I noticed two young white ladies with their faces painted all black and several other students taking pictures of them and laughing. Immediately, I began to experience a wave of emotions and thoughts…including fear. The fear I felt was on multiple levels and in that moment I was alone. Before we proceeded with our scheduled event, I had the students wash their faces and quickly explained the concern. Keeping in mind, another school in our area had a white student post a “blackface” image holding a watermelon. The article makes it very clear that the use of the “black face “ was making fun of and characterizing African Americans in a negative light. As society viewed such theatrics as humorous and funny, the same is true for todays era. Young people are making images and being who they are not…to make fun of others.
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