Blackface: An American Halloween Tradition

Halloween is supposed to be a holiday for the kids, who get to dress up like their favorite Disney characters and troll the neighborhood for sweets. But a lot of adults consider Halloween as a chance to expose the side of you that you keep hidden the other 364 days of the year. Most women use Halloween as an excuse to dress like a total slut and get away with it. But for the completely ignorant and/or racist, Halloween is blackface time. Every year, in the days following Halloween, some frat boy at some college gets in trouble for impersonating a black person. And they never learn!

So I put together a little poll to see what you guys think will be the most popular costume among the blackface set. O.J. Simpson's an old favorite that I'm sure will be resurrected after his recent legal snafu. The Michael Vick craze has already begun. Jay-Z and Beyonce are the perfect costumes for the most popular couple in school. Plus, if the girl is blond, she doesn't even have to wear a wig. And the Jena Six and Rutgers basketball team? Those two are only for the truly daring. But I'm sure America's privileged college boys are up for the challenge.

Oct 30, 2007 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 5 Responses

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Tagged: Blackface, Halloween, Holidays

Comments (5)

No. 1 · Michelle

Last year, I went out with a couple of friends for Halloween. There were about 6 Flavor Flav's and 4 of them were in "black face".

Let's just say I'll stay home this year in case the white boys get the urge to dress up as the Jena 6.

p.s. I'm sorry but a Michael Vick costume is kinda funny (without the black face, of course.)

Posted: Oct 30, 2007 at 7:38 pm

No. 2 · blackmistressdiva

Wouldn't it be great if a white dude dressed in blackface could run into a black dude dressed as a klansman? Hmmm…that's a great skit.

Posted: Oct 30, 2007 at 7:50 pm

No. 3 · dana

i dont understand how this isnt enraging black ppl! as angry as everyone was about hanging nooses, this (black face for halloween) has been going on for a few years now, and noone seems to really care!

Posted: Oct 30, 2007 at 10:39 pm

No. 4 · meg

Yep. We caught one at my school this weekend.

Posted: Oct 31, 2007 at 12:30 am

No. 5 · Cory Lien

What is the big deal about a white person in "black face" on halloween, I don't think it is offensive at all. A person in "black face" portraying a popular African American in pop culture is not thought of; in my mind as a stereotype for all black people(which is why i think most are upset w/ the black faced dudes)..it just adds to the corniness of the idea, that a non-black person chose to be a pop culture celebrity that was not the same color as him..it's funny b/c it is not a logical costume for the traits the non-black person has.
I think it is a funny idea not b/c the "black faced" guy is making fun of a race(b/c he's not), it is funny b/c he is making fun of himself for coming up w/ a complicated idea(complicated for him b/c he doesn't fit the characteristics of the person he is trying to portray)-and he still "trys" to pull it off - IT IS FUNNY B/C HE CAN'T PULL IT OFF, and he knows it!

Posted: Nov 15, 2007 at 12:05 am

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