BLACKFACE AND IT’S SORDID PAST

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2022 :: RMTnews 26 With the removal of shows from streaming platforms like Come fly with me (2010), Little Britain (2003), and Bo’ Selecta (2002) for the use of blackface a lot of audiences who once enjoyed these shows without a second thought are not impressed. Some of these audiences are very vocal: “Bring back the good old days where we had freedom” or “You can’t say or do anything anymore without offending someone”. Some audiences who could consume freely feel their simple pleasures are being taken away. Although the point is these simple pleasures were enjoyed without a second thought for others and an understanding of their problematic nature and history. Blackface minstrelsy is alive a kicking in our society and doesn’t need to darken one’s skin to thrive. We see elements of it in dreadlock Rasta hats, in the way caricature black accents are used by non-black people. We see it in the way black people are portrayed in television and film as well as how they are seen in the workplace, social settings and online. I can go on about the many offshoots of blackface minstrelsy in contemporary society but before I do I need to explain what it is and where it came from. Blackface minstrelsy was a form of entertainment that involved creating a clownish exaggeration of African features on mostly white performers as they embodied black stereotypes physically and vocally. Skin was darkened with burnt cork, lips were widened with red lipstick and wigs were used to emulate thick and curly afro hair. The caricature fashion of blackface minstrelsy dehumanised black people around the world and portrayed them as stupid, musical, violent, overly sexual and not to be trusted. These stereotypes were rooted in the justification of the transatlantic slave trade and stretch forward to present day. There’s no set date or place of its origin but blackface minstrelsy took off as form of mainstream entertainment globally in the early Victorian era. It made its way to many British seaside towns like Llandudno and even Queen Victoria’s royal court. Black performers like Master Juba and Ira Aldridge even blacked up as it was one of the only way for them to get on stage at the time. A black performer imitating a white performer imitating a black racist caricature is a head trip to say the least. Blackface minstrelsy inspired Dutch blackface Christmas helper Zwartie Piet and Cornwell’s very own Darkie Day which are both still practiced to this day. Although the most recognisable inspiration would be Florence Kate Upton’s first iteration of the Golliwog, which used the blueprint of blackface minstrelsy in its core design. This performance trend made its way to the big screen, featuring in the first ever movie Birth of a Nation (1915) and into the used tool box of silver screen actors like Al Jolson and even Judy Garland. All the while black people’s rights internationally were being violated, devalued and dehumanised on and off stage. These many off shoots of blackface minstrelsy not only developed older stereotypes but they created new ones, such as Black people’s love for fried chicken which we see and hear in and out of the media today. Fast forward to 1949 and Enid Blyton gave us a new reiteration of the Golliwog in her children’s books starring Noddy. This reimagining made its way into homes across the UK in books, toys and on jam jars. Blackface was a household name around the world and no-one questioned it’s effect on actual black audiences. An effect I’ve heard BLACKFACE AND IT’S SORDID PAST As part of Black History Month Lasana Shabazz looks at racist origins of the phenomenon Lasana Shabazz is a performance artist, writer and director whose work delves deep into identity politics, deconstructing ideas of race, sexuality, class and gender.