Student's MLK Tribute Sparks Controversy

[Anonymous]

Would it be offensive to white people of a black person put on make-up that made his skin light? Nope.

Much ado about nothing. This little child was not mocking MLK. This wasn't a vaudeville act.

[Anonymous]

The little boy was not mocking black people. He was trying to look like MLK for his presentation. The context was not at all racist.

[Anonymous]

This is my issue:
-kid dressing up for a project: not okay according to most.

-dumbass wayans brothers putting on whiteface for their movie "white chicks": not racist at all! Hilarious and acceptable to most.

Hypocrites!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid doesn't understand the implications of this, but surely the parents would, right? Or do they live under a rock?

I was born and raised in Colorado. African Americans are a minority in most of the suburbs and the entire state. The African Americans I grew up with were just like me, so I had no concept of race and racism until I moved away. So, yes, it is quite probable the parents would never think anyone would find it offensive, because they themselves did not do it to be offensive. Geez, the kid dressed like the man he was doing a report on. What if a African American put on a white wig to be like President Washington? Would that be offensive to the white people? Not at all.

I also have never heard of the group from decades ago that painted their faces black. Much of the population doesn't reseach every act that was done once that someone might find offensive.

White hair isn't an exclusive trait of white people. People of all races can and do have white hair in old age. You didn't know that?

Brown skin isn't exclusive of blacks either. My mom could pass as an African American when she out in the sun all summer, except for extremely straight hair. A black child putting on a white wig to portray George Washington is doing it make him look more like the historical white president, not mock whites. A white child painting his face brown to portray MLK is doing it to maKe himself look like MLK, not mock blacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid doesn't understand the implications of this, but surely the parents would, right? Or do they live under a rock?

I was born and raised in Colorado. African Americans are a minority in most of the suburbs and the entire state. The African Americans I grew up with were just like me, so I had no concept of race and racism until I moved away. So, yes, it is quite probable the parents would never think anyone would find it offensive, because they themselves did not do it to be offensive. Geez, the kid dressed like the man he was doing a report on. What if a African American put on a white wig to be like President Washington? Would that be offensive to the white people? Not at all.

I also have never heard of the group from decades ago that painted their faces black. Much of the population doesn't reseach every act that was done once that someone might find offensive.

Um, what? Are you trying to say that if you grow up in an all white neighborhood or if all the African Americans you know are "just like" you , then you have no need to understand history?

Good lord.

There's a huge difference between reading history in a book and being told that racism exists in other places, quite another to see or experience it first hand. The first is knowing data, the second provides actual knowledge. Running a marathon is hard, but you wouldn't know how the mind and body feel and react until you run one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid doesn't understand the implications of this, but surely the parents would, right? Or do they live under a rock?

I was born and raised in Colorado. African Americans are a minority in most of the suburbs and the entire state. The African Americans I grew up with were just like me, so I had no concept of race and racism until I moved away. So, yes, it is quite probable the parents would never think anyone would find it offensive, because they themselves did not do it to be offensive. Geez, the kid dressed like the man he was doing a report on. What if a African American put on a white wig to be like President Washington? Would that be offensive to the white people? Not at all.

I also have never heard of the group from decades ago that painted their faces black. Much of the population doesn't reseach every act that was done once that someone might find offensive.

Um, what? Are you trying to say that if you grow up in an all white neighborhood or if all the African Americans you know are "just like" you , then you have no need to understand history?

Good lord.

There's a huge difference between reading history in a book and being told that racism exists in other places, quite another to see or experience it first hand. The first is knowing data, the second provides actual knowledge. Running a marathon is hard, but you wouldn't know how the mind and body feel and react until you run one.

So what's your point? I've never seen a minstrel show, but I know that dressing up in blackface would be offensive to many. I've never been around someone who called an African American person the n-word, but I know it's not an acceptable thing to do. Just because you claim to have not experienced racism "first hand", it doesn't make it okay to be ignorant of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bullshit

Those parents knew exactly what they were doing.

It's the school's fault in this case for assigning such an inane project.

Furthermore, if Coloradans were so evolved, they'd find other exemplary, historical AA figures.

Why stop at MLK
all
the
time???

I suppose, according to us white folks, he WAS the only one?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid doesn't understand the implications of this, but surely the parents would, right? Or do they live under a rock?

I was born and raised in Colorado. African Americans are a minority in most of the suburbs and the entire state. The African Americans I grew up with were just like me, so I had no concept of race and racism until I moved away. So, yes, it is quite probable the parents would never think anyone would find it offensive, because they themselves did not do it to be offensive. Geez, the kid dressed like the man he was doing a report on. What if a African American put on a white wig to be like President Washington? Would that be offensive to the white people? Not at all.

I also have never heard of the group from decades ago that painted their faces black. Much of the population doesn't reseach every act that was done once that someone might find offensive.

Seriously? Your comment is not really worth of a reply--that anyone is this disrespectful on this issue in 2012 is pretty disappointing. I hope you are posting from a one stoplight town in fly over country--otherwise maybe you should try to educate yourself by reading a book or newspaper. Or does that fall under the heading of "too much research" for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my issue:
-kid dressing up for a project: not okay according to most.

-dumbass wayans brothers putting on whiteface for their movie "white chicks": not racist at all! Hilarious and acceptable to most.

Hypocrites!

Yes. And when you can survive middle passage you can have a vote on what we find offensive.
I'll look you up in 200 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bullshit

Those parents knew exactly what they were doing.

It's the school's fault in this case for assigning such an inane project.

Furthermore, if Coloradans were so evolved, they'd find other exemplary, historical AA figures.

Why stop at MLK
all
the
time???

I suppose, according to us white folks, he WAS the only one?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid doesn't understand the implications of this, but surely the parents would, right? Or do they live under a rock?

I was born and raised in Colorado. African Americans are a minority in most of the suburbs and the entire state. The African Americans I grew up with were just like me, so I had no concept of race and racism until I moved away. So, yes, it is quite probable the parents would never think anyone would find it offensive, because they themselves did not do it to be offensive. Geez, the kid dressed like the man he was doing a report on. What if a African American put on a white wig to be like President Washington? Would that be offensive to the white people? Not at all.

I also have never heard of the group from decades ago that painted their faces black. Much of the population doesn't reseach every act that was done once that someone might find offensive.

Seriously? Your comment is not really worth of a reply--that anyone is this disrespectful on this issue in 2012 is pretty disappointing. I hope you are posting from a one stoplight town in fly over country--otherwise maybe you should try to educate yourself by reading a book or newspaper. Or does that fall under the heading of "too much research" for you?

Seriously? Your post attacking her for discrimination includes epithets like "fly over country"? Discriminate much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid doesn't understand the implications of this, but surely the parents would, right? Or do they live under a rock?

I was born and raised in Colorado. African Americans are a minority in most of the suburbs and the entire state. The African Americans I grew up with were just like me, so I had no concept of race and racism until I moved away. So, yes, it is quite probable the parents would never think anyone would find it offensive, because they themselves did not do it to be offensive. Geez, the kid dressed like the man he was doing a report on. What if a African American put on a white wig to be like President Washington? Would that be offensive to the white people? Not at all.

I also have never heard of the group from decades ago that painted their faces black. Much of the population doesn't reseach every act that was done once that someone might find offensive.

White hair isn't an exclusive trait of white people. People of all races can and do have white hair in old age. You didn't know that?

Brown skin isn't exclusive of blacks either. My mom could pass as an African American when she out in the sun all summer, except for extremely straight hair. A black child putting on a white wig to portray George Washington is doing it make him look more like the historical white president, not mock whites. A white child painting his face brown to portray MLK is doing it to maKe himself look like MLK, not mock blacks.

It is not the state of mind of the child that matters here--children have all sorts of harmless motivations for things that they say or do that are in fact harmful to others. The parents are to held accountable here for not educating their child on some of the reasons why doing "black face" would be an insensitive act. They don't have to go into the history of civil rights--just a developmentally appropriate explanation of how in the past black face was used to mock blacks and even though we know you don't mean it that way Johnny, black face on white people is a symbol of discrimination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my issue:
-kid dressing up for a project: not okay according to most.

-dumbass wayans brothers putting on whiteface for their movie "white chicks": not racist at all! Hilarious and acceptable to most.

Hypocrites!

Yes. And when you can survive middle passage you can have a vote on what we find offensive.
I'll look you up in 200 years.

Wow! You personally survived the slave trade? So you can personally be the voice of your race?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my issue:
-kid dressing up for a project: not okay according to most.

-dumbass wayans brothers putting on whiteface for their movie "white chicks": not racist at all! Hilarious and acceptable to most.

Hypocrites!

Yes. And when you can survive middle passage you can have a vote on what we find offensive.
I'll look you up in 200 years.

Wow! You personally survived the slave trade? So you can personally be the voice of your race?

Every African American is still dealing with the repercussions from US slavery. Hence the it's ok to let little Jimmy dress in black face. When is the last time you saw a kid with a fake tatto pretending to respectfully show how bad the a holocaust was...Never. Would you even have questioned that was offensive? If we are saying its offensive it is!
However to help you with timing. My mothers grandfather was a slave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my issue:
-kid dressing up for a project: not okay according to most.

-dumbass wayans brothers putting on whiteface for their movie "white chicks": not racist at all! Hilarious and acceptable to most.

Hypocrites!

Well obviously you think the Wayans brothers are dumbasses for doing it, so I guess you really are against both.

[Anonymous]

Why did they use blackface?

http://abcnews.go.com/images/US/ht_black_Faced_class_project_thg_120517_wblog.jpg

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/05/17/ctm_king_051712_244x183.jpg

Why not use brown makeup? Bronzer even.

[Anonymous]

Those pictures are telling. MLK had brown skin, not black skin. Good lord, can i please transport myself into the future to see how much progress we have made in the terms of racial perceptions. Octavia B. Where are you when i need you most?