My black face is not your muse

By Lismo DeJesus

I try my best to be open-minded and not put race into the equation so much since I'm living abroad. But then I hear stories of Korean kids not wanting to play with other Korean kids because their skin is darker and of Korean teachers undoing a child's cornrow hairdo when she is napping because they think it's dirty. I see Korean comedians painting themselves brown to portray Michael Jordan in comic skits and, most recently, see pictures of Korean high schoolers wearing blackface to portray the Ghana pallbearer meme for their senior yearbook. How can I not factor it in?

It was the nonchalant comments and deflections made by Koreans after the issue was raised that stung the most: “It's not that serious,” “It wasn't a big deal,” “there was no ill intent.” Though I believe it to be true, that there was no ill intent, I can't help but think it actually is a big deal ― a very big deal. Most people are aware that blackface stems from the inconsiderate mocking of black people. To say it's not a big deal is telling me you don't care. There's a reason why people are still protesting that Black Lives Matter.

This is one of those moments in which I am reminded of the difference between my skin and the privilege granted by having white skin. And the gulf of unawareness about my culture and its appropriation, except as to what is stigmatized on TV. With that being said, I'm writing to express why blackface should not be your muse. To understand the actual weight of blackface you have to look back in history.

America was constructed on the brutal labor of trafficked and enslaved people who had hair and skin like mine. Their job was to work from before sunup till sundown for no pay to make America the land of equality, opportunity and the pursuit of happiness for all. During the 1830s a performer from New York was on tour in the South. He came upon many slaves singing spirituals on the plantations. Spirituals were religious musical elements that were passed down from generation to generation all the way from the slave ships. Because black slaves weren't allowed to learn how to read or write, spirituals stood as oral maps guiding runaway slaves to freedom, songs to bring comfort in the midst of harsh labor and to use as prayers.

This performer saw an opportunity to birth a new era in American entertainment using the creativity of black slaves as his foundation. This performer became known as the “Father of American Minstrelsy,” and his name was Thomas Dartmouth Rice. Rice painted his face black, drew an exaggerated white outline around his lips and wore woolly wigs and unkempt clothing to mimic the character of black slaves. This was the birth of Rice's act Jim Crow, a character based on the white stereotype of black people as being lazy, ignorant, superstitious people who were content working on a plantation and speaking “negro” dialect, as they called it. Jim Crow legitimized slave ownership and became the talisman of racism and segregation in the U.S.

After the Civil War, blackface was used as white supremacist propaganda in motion picture “The Birth of a Nation,” the first motion picture to be screened at the White House. The film, distorted by a pseudo-historical ideology known as the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy,” allowed confederate states to express their grief and belief of what life would be like with free blacks around, portraying the Ku Klux Klan as heroic and black men ― played by white actors in blackface ― as dangerous and sexually threatening towards white women.

It's not only in the U.S. that blackface has produced damage ― the Netherlands' Zwarte Piet translated as Black Pete is another example. Every year Dutch people wear blackface to celebrate Christmas with Saint Nicholas and his servant Black Pete, the Moor from Spain.

The original story of Black Pete is that he fills his empty sack with naughty children and takes them back to Spain or spanks them with a rod. Over the years, his character has become friendlier and he is now portrayed as Saint Nicholas' little helper who passes out toys to good children. Even though people living in the Netherlands mean no harm, until this day people protest against Black Pete because of what it represents… a rude racist mockery towards black people.

Blackface has been wielded as a weapon to dehumanize black people and aid in the proliferation of negative stereotypes. We are constantly working hard to change the projections that have been placed upon us unwillingly. Hearing someone say “it's not that serious,” or watching someone on TV wearing blackface devalues me and my history, and I must differ. Blackface is a sore reminder to me, and others with familial DNA strands linked to Africa, of the identity that was lost in the journey across Atlantic waters.

We still deal with unresolved reparations for the inhumane acts endured, similar to Koreans and their oppression during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation. It's when blackface incidents occur that I am reminded of my black skin and have a clearer vision of the one-sided U.S. history that is still being told.

Moreover, in a country where there is already a lack of anti-discrimination laws, I'm concerned blackface could be utilized to 'normalize' other ethnical and cultural insensitive acts to continue.

Lismo is an American expat living in Seoul. Her hobbies include traveling, the study of diasporas, and film. The opinions in this article are the author's and not the official position of The Korea Times.