A story in The Daily Athenaeum on Nov. 6 exposed a serious issue that occurred during Halloween.
It began when a few members of the West Virginia University women’s soccer team thought it was OK and in good fun to dress in blackface as a part of their Halloween costume.
The players were imitating a few of their black teammates, who had given them permission to do so.
I heard about this shortly after it happened and saw a photograph of the girls on Facebook. As a student leader at the University, I decided it was best to wait and let the smoke clear before addressing the situation.
Responses have been varied and pretty extreme.
It appears as though members of the WVU community are polarized. They either feel the actions of the soccer players were shameful and wrong, or they found very little fault with them at all.
Some feel that since the incident occurred at a fun and private function, no one else has the right to comment or be offended by the blackface.
There’s also the sentiment it was acceptable because the girls received permission from their African-American teammates.
At the other end of the spectrum, people feel that it was done out of sheer ignorance, and those who participated should issue an apology to the WVU community for taking part in racist and derogatory behavior.
No matter which way I look at the situation, it was offensive.
Painting yourself to comically depict another race is not a good idea.
The sheer lack of consideration for the other black students on this campus and the rest of the WVU community upset me more than the action itself.
Who cares if two or three of their black friends said that they didn’t mind?
They do not speak for the entire black community at this University.
Neither do I. However, as the president of the Black Student Union, I have been bombarded with calls and e-mails regarding the situation, and the story that ran last week.
People want to know what the BSU is going to do or what the organization is going to do to help prevent this kind of behavior from occurring again.
Jennifer McIntosh, executive officer for the President’s Office for Social Justice at WVU, essentially said the incident was not racist in nature and that it was done at a fun event.
While I respect McIntosh, I do not respect or appreciate the fact she made it seem that this kind of behavior is acceptable.
Considering her office works hard to ensure equality for WVU students, I am bewildered by the fact she said it was not done in any derogatory fashion whatsoever.
Blackface was, is and always will be a derogatory, oppressive and offensive statement. It is disrespectful to African-American people.
Spin it however you want, there is nothing flattering about blackface.
These minstrel shows were not done to emulate black people; they were done to humiliate black people.
Just because this is a different time doesn’t mean that it does not hold the same connotation.
Saying that they didn’t mean any harm or that it was all in good fun are just excuses.
As student leaders, common sense should have told the participants the act of wearing padded butts and painting themselves black was probably not the best idea.
Even though these young women did not commit the blunder out of malice or hatred, they should be held accountable for their actions.
Whether they are aware or not, people look up to them and respect them.
Athletes are held to a different standard because they represent our institution on a national level.
Their actions not only offended and disrespected African-Americans, they disrespected people of all ethnicities (whites included) who died alongside African-Americans during the long fight for justice and equality in this country.
Every member of the WVU community should have been offended by this careless act.
WVU is not the kind of place where racism should be thought of as an insignificant joke.
Why do people think that because we have a black president and because we do not see cross burnings and lynchings as we did in the past that racism doesn’t exist?
Slavery in this country dates back to the 1500s, and we are still dealing with its residual effects.
You do not have to forget in order to move on. You just have to forgive.
I am confident that if these athletes had some diversity sensitivity training, their judgment would lead them to believe dressing in blackface was in bad taste.
All student leaders and University representatives should have some kind of diversity training.
Students want reassurance that this is not going to happen again.
The BSU has not planned anything on our own, but we are offering our support to the University when they decide to address this issue.
It is imperative that when and if the University does address this, students get involved.
People have this weird idea that if we stop talking about racism, it will go away.
That is so far from the truth it is ridiculous.
Racism is not the kind of issue you can ignore.
The only way that we as a country will ever eliminate racism is to educate ourselves about the past so we can stop making the same mistakes in the future.
22 comments
This issue has turned in to a witch hunt instead of communicating the real issue, which is perception of discriminatory actions. McIntosh has the DIFFICULT job of being WVU’s conscience. Taking into account EVERYONE’S perception and making decisions which are legal and benefit everyone. Not an easy endeavor.
I would ask that you stop and think before you post, “Does my comment help with eliminating discrimination, or am I fueling it?”