PSA: You Didn't Win Halloween & Neither Did I

Last night my social media feed was filled with photos of friends attending their weekend parties in their Halloween costumes. There were a couple families and friend groups who were the cast of Napoleon Dynamite, a hilarious couple who went as their dogs, Curious George and the man in the Yellow Suite, and even Tess and Emily Tyler (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen from Billboard Dad). People are so creative when it comes to Halloween costumes! I am so not!

But then I saw a couple’s costume I was so unbelievable uncomfortable with. alloween

It was on Snapchat. Two people, one had painted himself brown to depict a character, a “hero” from a TV show we all watched in high school. Not just face painted, but arms, neck, chest. Then they added the chains. This, to that couple was a costume, but this also has a name, and that name is “blackface”.

Minstrel shows started in the mid to late 19^th century, where white actors would paint their face to depict blacks on stage. The actors then went up on stage and acted in a way to show that blacks were stupid and less than the white man, a mockery and made to be inferior in every way.

I know this couple, and I do know their hearts. I know they are good people and they did not do this costume to hurt me or anyone. The problem is (drumroll please) it is offensive.

In the moment of seeing that snapchat, I had 2 thoughts.

           1.  “OH HELL NO”

                   I wanted to go all Lemonade, be even more unapologetically black (this move  has done something really empowering to me), and smash out someone’s car windows.

and I also thought,

            2. “help…”

                   Where I wanted to lock all my doors and find all my blankets and hide under them and never come out.

That picture, that turned out to not only be on Snap but on every social media site, made me feel like everyone saw me and no one saw me all at the same time, and I wasn’t even at that party (and I feel for the couple who was at that party who had to see that and had all the eyes on them because their skin color was painted on a white man. I can’t imagine how you felt!).

In his essay “Just Say No To BlackFace”, David J Leonard Wrote, 

“The ability to be ignorant, to be unaware of the 

history and consequences of racial bigotry, 

to simply do as one pleases, is a 

quintessential element of privilege”

In 2017, blackface is a costume (let’s get this clear— SKIN COLOR IS NOT A COSTUME!). Last night, my melanin was his joke. A way for him to get a good laugh. Not much different than those minstrel shows, is it? Stepping on his hero, to make his buddies laugh. The thing is, he washed his dark skin off at the end of the night and lives in his privilege today, while there are others who still are fighting for basic human rights right now, and he doesn’t see that.

So here I am, putting on my Issa Rae hat (and for the record I would way rather meet Issa Rae than Oprah… can anyone make that happen?). Last night’s costume was not okay. It was not funny. It did not win Halloween. Anyone who thinks this is borderline racist, but I am just going to call you ignorant. The comment threads on the images were repulsive! There were a few who stood up and said hey this is not okay, and to you, thanks. To those at the party who were too afraid to say something then, I understand. Thank you for being willing to say something later. My hope is that in the future, you will be willing to take a stand in the moment, but your willingness to stand speaks volumes.

And to those who don’t understand why this is a problem, or why any social issue is a problem, ask yourself why you don’t know? What have you don’t to stop yourself from knowing? In doing it (any act), what are you benefiting? Who are you hurting? Who are you helping?