The Racist History of Blackface
时间：2019-02-19 作者：英语课 分类：2019年VOA慢速英语(二)月
A picture from a 1984 medical school yearbook has put pressure on a top American politician to resign. It also has renewed criticism of racist 1 images, both in the United States and other countries.
The photograph appeared on the yearbook’s page about Ralph Northam, the current governor of Virginia. It shows two white men. One is wearing clothes linked to the hate group the Ku Klux Klan. The other man has darkened his skin in a style, or look, known as “blackface.”
Governor Northam denies he is one of the men in the photo. However, Northam admits that another time when he was a student, he darkened his skin in an attempt to look like the singer Michael Jackson for a dance contest.
The link between Northam and racist behavior has led to calls for the governor to resign, only one year into his four-year term.
The calls follow criticism of other U.S. politicians for racist acts or words. They also come after nearly 200 years of objections to blackface as offensive and dehumanizing.
Popular with some, extremely offensive to others
Writer Jesse J. Holland explained the history of blackface in a story for the Associated Press.
Holland says that appearing in blackface began in the early 1800s as part of a new kind of American theater called minstrel shows.
For fun, white men would make themselves into caricatures of black people. The men would darken the skin on their faces and hands and make their eyes and lips appear bigger. Then, they would perform as African-Americans who were uneducated, lazy, and likely to steal or be afraid.
These performances were clearly racist, designed to discredit 2 black people. For example, one of the first blackface performers became known for playing an unintelligent man called “Jim Crow.” Later, laws that enforced racial separation were commonly called Jim Crow laws.
As early as 1848, activists 3 such as Frederick Douglass condemned 4 blackface performers as among the worst of white society. He accused them of stealing black people’s coloring to make money and amuse other whites.
Civil rights groups have condemned blackface performances for many years. Spokespeople have said the caricatures present and strengthen racial stereotypes 6.
Yet blackface remained popular with some whites well into the 20th century. Even in modern times, politicians, actors, and members of the public continue to appear in blackface – although they are often criticized for it.
For example, a Florida state official resigned last month after a newspaper published photos of him appearing in blackface. The official was pretending to be a victim of Hurricane Katrina. The storm struck Louisiana in 2005. It especially affected 7 African-Americans in the city of New Orleans. More than 1,000 people were killed, and tens of thousands displaced.
Similar issues have risen in other countries, notes Jesse J. Holland.
In 2010, a Mexican media company faced criticism for using actors in blackface to appear on a television (TV) show during the World Cup. In 2013, a leading TV station in Peru was fined for showing a popular character in blackface.
And just last year, people in the Netherlands clashed over whites dressing 8 in blackface to act like a dark-skinned helper to Santa Claus.
I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.
Words in This Story
page - n. a sheet of paper in a book, magazine, etc.
contest - n. an event in which people try to win by doing something better than others
caricature - n. someone or something that is very exaggerated in a funny or foolish way
lazy - adj. not liking 9 to work hard or to be active
stereotype 5 - n. an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic
pretend - v. to imagine and act out
- a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
- His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。
- Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
- They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。
- His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
- Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
- There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。
- Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
- It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
- The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。