Majoring in Minstrelsy: White
Students, Blackface and the Failure of Mainstream Multiculturalism
by Tim Wise
This
article was originally published on Tim
Wise's site. He's a white anti-racist activist.
"Why do so many white kids engage in such racist activities?"
Sometimes
you just have to ask, "What the f*&% is wrong with you?"
I've been
asking this question a lot lately, given the almost monthly reports that white
college students at one or another campus have yet again displayed a form of
racist ignorance so stupefying as to boggle the imagination.
For some,
it means dressing up in blackface. For others, a good time means throwing a
"ghetto party," in which they don gold chains, afro wigs, and strut
around with 40 ounce bottles of malt liquor, mocking low-income black folks.
For still others, hoping to spread around the insults a bit, fun is spelled,
"Tacos and Tequila," during which bashes students dress up as maids,
landscapers, or pregnant teenagers so as to make fun of Latino/as.
The school
year just completed saw at least fifteen such events transpire, bringing to
well over thirty the number of such incidents in recent years. Among the
institutions where white kids apparently think this kind of thing is funny, we
have the University of Texas School of Law, Trinity College, Whitman College,
Washington University, the University of Virginia, Clemson, Willamette College,
Texas A&M, The University of Connecticut School of Law, Stetson University,
the University of Chicago, Cornell, Swarthmore, Emory, MIT, Macalester, Johns
Hopkins, Dartmouth, the University of Louisville, the University of Wisconsin
at Whitewater, William Jewell College, Oklahoma State, Auburn, the University
of California at Irvine, Syracuse, Tarleton State, Union College and the
Universities of Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona, Alabama, Illinois, Delaware, and
Mississippi.
"The students know exactly what they're doing, and are
deliberately trying to make a statement."
Whether
racist parties like this are growing more common, or whether they're just
gaining more attention thanks to websites like Facebook, MySpace, and others
that allow the sharing of photo files is unclear. But in either case, the
question remains: Why do so many whites engage in these kinds of activities,
without giving their appropriateness a second thought?
There are
generally two theories postulated to answer this question. The first holds that
these students are ignorant about the history of blackface, and the racist implications
of mocking the so-called ghetto. The second suggests that the whites involved
are anything but ignorant. According to the latter theory, the students
know exactly what they're doing, and are deliberately trying to make a
statement, as a form of backlash against students of color on their campuses.
While it
may be tempting to accept one or another of these explanations, both might
contain a partial truth. For some - like those who have thrown these parties on
the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (as happened a half-dozen times this past
year) - it is hard to believe that they were unaware of the racial
message they were sending. On the other hand, persons dressing in blackface as
part of a Halloween costume, while offensive, may well be acting from sheer
stupidity, absent malicious intent.*
The truth
is probably somewhere between the two theories. It's certainly true that most
whites are unaware of the way that blackface has been used historically to
denigrate the intellect and humanity of blacks. And most probably know little
about the history of how ghetto communities were created by government and
economic elites, to the detriment of those who live there. Yet, at some level,
most of those engaged in these activities had to know they were treading on
offensive ground. After all, never did the sponsors of these parties make the
mistake of inviting real black people to the ghetto celebration. They
knew better, apparently, than to approach their campus's Black Student
Associations and ask them to co-sponsor the events. They didn't ask Latino
students to come to "Tacos and Tequila," so as to lend authenticity
to the fun. Had they been acting out of pure ignorance, they wouldn't have
hesitated to try and make the events into multicultural funfests. But they never
made this mistake, suggesting that even if only subconsciously, they had to
know something was wrong.
"Blackface
has been used historically to denigrate the intellect and humanity of blacks."
There are
several potential causes of racist theme parties. Among the more obvious would
be the insular nature of the Greek system, from which a disproportionate number
of these events have emanated. After all, fraternities and sororities mostly
choose members based on how much alike they are to those already in the
club. They are not, in other words, natural incubators for diversity. Nor are
they the kinds of places where dissent typically flourishes. So if one's
brothers or sisters were planning a racist party, even those who were bothered
by it might not speak up, for fear of being ostracized. But as easy as it might
be to beat up on the Greeks, there are much larger institutional issues
involved. Not to mention, there has also been a massive failure of white
students, including those not involved in fraternities or sororities, to take a
stand against these kinds of events.
Watered-Down
Multiculturalism as a Cause of White Racist Behavior
For the
past two decades, most colleges have engaged in various types of diversity
efforts, from affirmative action policies, to the creation of multicultural
affairs offices, to diversity-related programming. Yet the way in which
diversity and multiculturalism have typically been approached on campus, leads
one to wonder whether or not the messages being sent might actually contribute
to the kinds of racism on display in events like ghetto parties or blackface
incidents. Sadly, diversity on campus is still most often approached as it was
at my college, Tulane University, in the 1980s, with little having changed
since then. Namely, in most instances, schools push the "celebrate
differences" paradigm of diversity, in which everyone is encouraged to be
tolerant and to appreciate the cultural contributions of all the different
racial and ethnic groups. While this may sound good, in practice it creates
problems.
First,
"tolerance" can be used as a weapon to insist that we should be
tolerant of racist humor too. As such, emphasizing toleration rather than
equity of treatment may contribute to a climate where students feel comfortable
throwing these kinds of parties, because after all, "it's just a
joke." Secondly, by implying that race issues are about culture (and not
power differences between whites and folks of color), most diversity efforts
allow whites to think of blackness as little more than style, which can be
appropriated, copied or mimicked, without making fun of black people per se,
or furthering inequity. In this kind of multiculturalism, the power dynamic
that makes racially insensitive humor hurtful isn't discussed. Students are
encouraged to see how "We're all different" (and gee, isn't that
interesting?), but are not asked to reflect on the biggest difference of all:
in this case, the one regarding who's on top and who's not in the larger
society.
"Tolerance" can be used as a weapon to insist that we
should be tolerant of racist humor."
Even worse,
to copy what they see as black culture and style, is just as likely to be seen
by such persons as celebratory and positive, as negative and demeaning. In
other words, it's as if they were saying, "Hey, we're just celebrating
difference! Look at me, I'm a rapper!" Now sure, they may have a horribly
stunted view of what constitutes both celebration and true cultural difference
(seeing as how they clearly equate blackness with the gangsta image), but their
assumptions in this regard make sense, stemming from a context-absent analysis,
in which issues of power are largely missing.
Additionally,
by avoiding issues of power, mainstream multiculturalism makes it possible for
whites who see no harm in blackface or ghetto parties, to respond to their
critics by saying things like, "Well, what about that movie 'White
Chicks,' where the Wayans brothers put on white face makeup and made fun of
people like us?" In other words, whites see all groups as equally
capable of objectifying each other, so what's the big deal? Indeed, if you're
being taught to view issues of race as the mere pluralistic existence of
different groups, perhaps competing for resources and attention, but without a
discussion of power, this kind of argument has a certain kind of logic to it.
Of course, once the social context is brought in, it makes no sense at all.
There has been no history of whiteface as a mechanism for denigrating the
intelligence of whites, whereas blackface served precisely that purpose.
"White Chicks" conjures up no painful memories, and is so devoid of
the historical 'umph' of blackface, that to consider it in the same category as
minstrelsy is to call into question one's ability to think rationally at all.
"The ghetto is a geopolitical space occupied by persons
whose opportunities have been constricted."
What's
more, because mainstream multiculturalism rarely explores the historical or
sociological roots of what some now think of as cultural phenomena, it is also
possible for whites to view "the ghetto" as an authentic expression
of black culture, rather than understanding it as a geopolitical space occupied
by persons whose opportunities have been constricted. To most whites, ghettos are
culturally-specific spaces, either to be feared, turned into style, or even
romanticized as more "real" than the places from which most of them
come. If they had an understanding of how the ghetto became the ghetto - a
history of residential segregation, urban "renewal," which destroyed
black homes and neighborhoods, and deindustrialization, beginning in the '60s -
many of the whites who have participated in these kinds of activities might
have thought twice about it. If they understood that the ghetto is something
that has been done to millions of black people - that indeed it is more
an expression of white supremacist culture than anything authentically
black - many might recognize that throwing parties celebrating or mocking
ghetto life would be hardly different from throwing concentration camp or
internment camp parties. But if whites think of the ghetto as an authentic
expression of blackness, they'll be less likely to feel shame while making fun
of such a place. Indeed, they may not even view a ghetto party as making fun at
all, so much as being a romanticization of a place that both fascinates and
terrifies them.
So long as
diversity talk avoids issues of power and privilege, opting instead for
cultural tourism, whereby we're encouraged to sample one another's stuff, from
food, to clothing, to hairstyles - note the phenomena of white boys wearing
dreadlocks, and white girls with tight braids - we can expect this kind of
thing to continue. After all, what could be more "touristy" than dressing
like the people whose culture you're sampling? To many whites, blackface, or
putting on an Afro and fake bling, is just a more up-to-date and hipper version
of the Hawaiian shirt their dad wears every time the family goes to Honolulu.
"What could be more ‘touristy' than dressing like the
people whose culture you're sampling?"
Until
colleges include discussions of power, inequality and privilege (and how these
can misshape the campus climate) during first-year orientation programs, and
with all students, they really can't feign shock or outrage when some
proceed to act out their ignorance on a public stage. Until schools clearly
define what a racially hostile environment is, and what is to be viewed as
contributing to such a climate--and what kinds of acts will therefore not be
tolerated, just as they would not be in the workplace--they can't be surprised
when students feel they can get away with virtually anything, no matter how
offensive. Finally, so long as colleges turn a blind eye to the overwhelmingly white
student pathology of epidemic binge drinking that has served as the backdrop
for most if not all of these racist parties--indeed, white students are 130
percent more likely to binge drink than blacks, and 300 percent more
likely to do so on a regular basis - not much is going to change. This means
attacking problem drinking as an abuse of privilege, and not just
alcohol.
White
Protectionism and the Need for Ally Behavior
In addition
to the need for school officials to take action, students must also take
responsibility for addressing these occurrences head-on. In particular, whites
who are not involved in these acts need to stand up against those who are.
Although some whites have joined with students of color to condemn these events
when they've happened, quite telling has been the speed with which others have
sought to downplay the racism evinced in such instances.
At Oklahoma
State, one young man minimized the seriousness of the incident in his
fraternity - in which one of his "brothers," wearing a Klan hood,
posed for a picture while holding a rope around the neck of another member who
was dressed in blackface - by noting that the perpetrators were just
"young men, having fun, no one was hurt, and above all nothing was meant
by their actions."
At Stetson,
a group of young women who dressed in blackface, claimed that their event had
the blessing of the mostly black basketball team; and at Illinois, white
sorority girls defended their "Tacos and Tequila" event by noting
that their two Latina members were "cool with it" (as if a handful of
black and brown folks can speak for their entire groups). The attorney for a
group of white frat boys at Auburn even suggested that his clients had actually
been trying to be "inclusive" by dressing in blackface, since the
party theme was to come dressed as something you might see in the Auburn
community.
"White sorority girls defended their ‘Tacos and Tequila'
event by noting that their two Latina members were ‘cool with it'"
Or consider
the internet posting of a University of Texas law student, who didn't
participate in last year's "ghetto fabulous" party, but who found
more fault with those critiquing it, than those who threw it in the first
place:
"Get
over it. You were offended. You complained...Prolonging the drama only makes
you look like attention whores - you aren't trying to educate people, and you
aren't trying to create an atmosphere of inclusion, where people can understand
your point of view. You want to continue to spank the naughty 1Ls. The Dean gave
you recognition. Everyone in the law school received that email. Do you
honestly think that prolonging the drama is going to do anything productive?
And for the
record, equating ghetto fabulous with blackface is really fucking stupid."
In other
words, the students who engaged in the racist objectification of blacks are
"naughty," but the students of color who complained are
"attention whores," and "fucking stupid."
Other
whites at the law school voiced their displeasure at the possibility that the
school may now alter its curricula, thereby forcing them to learn about racism
- imagine having to learn about such an irrelevant subject while studying law.
Still others criticized the black students for going public about the event
(instead of handling things internally), since it might harm the careers of
whites who didn't participate, but who would now be tainted by the actions of a
few. Instead of being upset at their white peers for throwing the racist party,
and thereby tainting them as whites, their anger was focused on the black
students for discussing it openly!
And in
keeping with the tendency for white folks to seek out black scapegoats whenever
one of ours engages in racism (as happened with Don Imus), many students have
sought to shift the blame for things like ghetto parties onto hip-hop and rap
music. In other words, white kids are just copying what they see on MTV, and if
black folks can glamorize the ghetto, why can't they? That rappers, for good or
ill, are often telling stories about their own lives and communities from which
they come (or at least with which they have some familiarity), while white
co-eds are engaging in vulgar voyeurism devoid of authenticity escapes them.
Not to mention, rap can hardly be blamed for the ignorance here: after all,
black students, who last time I checked often liked hip-hop too, don't throw
these parties. Not ever.
Then
there's the tendency to redefine racist incidents as something else, like
simple bad taste, or even political satire. The latter of these was offered as
the excuse last year, after one Willamette student came to a party in blackface
to mock the school's President, and another (albeit a student of South Asian
descent, but by most accounts highly white-identified) dressed as an indigenous
woman who had been raped. Funny stuff.
"There's the tendency to redefine racist incidents as
something
else, like simple bad taste, or even political satire."
Until white
students become less concerned about hurting the feelings of a bunch of
racists, or drunks (or both) by calling them out, and more committed to the
creation of a respectful and equitable environment on campus, those whites who
engage in acts of racism will feel no need to change their behaviors. Unless
whites ostracize such students, those who find racism humorous will continue to
push the envelope. Only by making clear that these kinds of things are
unacceptable to us, will other whites apparently get the message that
their actions are inexcusable. It's obvious by now that they won't respond to
black and brown protests alone.
Perhaps we
should think of it as an updated version of the white man's (and woman's)
burden: not, as with the original and racist version, to "civilize"
others, but instead to civilize ourselves, to grow up, and to enter into the
world of adults as more functional human beings, rather than as the walking,
talking stereotypes into which we too often turn ourselves.
Tim Wise is the author of White
Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged
Son (Soft Skull, 2005) and Affirmative Action: Racial
Preference in Black and White (Routledge, 2005).He can be contacted through his
we site.
* Putting aside whether or not blackface incidents or ghetto parties are
intentionally racist (as opposed to being mostly the result of ignorance),
there is little question but that overt racism poses a serious problem on
college campuses. Data going back to the 80s suggests that there are thousands
of instances of ethnoviolence (ranging from assaults, to graffiti, to racial
slurs) directed towards students of color each year. A study at the University
of California-San Diego in the 90s found that over eighty percent of white
students admitted to having seen or heard racial slurs or acts of race-based
discrimination aimed at students of color. And a 2004 survey at the University
of Virginia found that forty percent of all black students at the school had
been the target of a direct racial slur, while ninety-one percent had either
experienced or witnessed an act of racial discrimination or intolerance since
coming to the college. Additional research by Joe Feagin and Leslie Picca,
published in their recent book, Two-Faced Racism, finds that white
students often use racial slurs and express blatantly racist beliefs around
their white friends and colleagues, even though they would rarely if ever do so
publicly, or in front of the persons to whom the slurs are directed.
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