Amid blackface controversy, let's reaffirm respect for diversity

For weeks, the media has covered the use of "blackface" by elected government officials in Virginia to mock and find entertainment in the degradation of Americans whose skin is not white.

There are those who continue to believe that the act of painting one's face black is all in fun and people that look like me are making a mountain out of a mole hill. They do not find discrimination in such acts. They excuse these racist displays of ignorance with statements such as "they were young at the time" and "as young people, they were just playing around and meant no harm" and "those who complain about whites using blackface are overly sensitive and too emotional."

Supporters of such thoughts fail to recognize the pain of others and do not comprehend that finding amusement, for themselves and others, in this way is wrong and constitutes institutional racism. This is a sickness that has been spreading since the establishment of our country, for which a cure has not yet been found.

Blackface, a form of makeup used predominantly by nonblacks to represent a caricature of a black person, gained popularity in the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky."

At one time, famous entertainers like Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and many others used blackface to help further their careers. Al Jolson and Jimmy Durante were the most famous of those who grew their fame by denigrating black Americans in this way.

Often, to be able to perform in white establishments, black entertainers, in the early days of their careers, like Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, Flip Wilson and countless others had to act out the stereotype of the blackface to be allowed to perform. They had to shuffle their feet, laugh when there was nothing to laugh about, grin and speak in a way that carried out the stereotype that had been assigned to black Americans dating back for centuries.

I continue to struggle with understanding the lack of sensitivity and in finding an answer to the question of why some people seek pleasure and enjoyment in the humiliation of others. Another way we see this present itself today is in the bullying that occurs in our schools and society. Many Americans, over the age of 50, may remember books used in most schools at one time. They carried titles such as Little Black Sambo and Buckeye and others that contained images of little black children portrayed as wide-eyed, scared, submissive and with unmanaged hair.

Conversely, our schools taught young children, both black and white, with books like Dick and Jane, which portrayed white children as being from middle-class families, with parents dressed in nice clothes and using proper English. Teachers of the time presented such comparisons as factual, which fed the racism that continues to plague our nation.

I can remember, as a child, the laughs of little white children as they mocked what they saw and read in those hate-filled, distorted books. As a result, those children grew up with an attitude of superiority and black children grew up with feelings of inferiority - all in the name of education.

This mocking of African Americans as a form of entertainment can be traced to slavery. In one example, while the wives of the slave masters met and enjoyed tea and conversation together, their husbands would assemble in the barn. They would bring in a male slave, referred to as a "big buck" and a female slave and force them to have sex for the mockery and entertainment of the watching slave masters. During slavery and continuing through the appalling Jim Crow era in American History, white parents would gather their children to watch public hangings of blacks as entertainment, often bringing food for a picnic.

Today, there are those who fail to take the killing of young, unarmed black boys seriously and will argue that such acts do not constitute lynching. They fail to understand that even though we have evolved from the use of a rope slung over a tree, murdering without cause, hiding behind the obscurity of entitlement without fear of consequence, is the same thing. Currently, we have a president of the United States who mocks the people of Africa and Haiti and openly fosters the belief that where immigrants are concerned, they should come from predominantly white countries such as Norway.

Many Americans brush off these statements by simply saying, "that's Donald," thereby legitimizing the exclusion and stereotyping of people of color. Those who accept these views further demonstrate ignorance in not knowing that Africa is a continent which contains numerous nationalities.

Each February, we celebrate Black History Month. That it is necessary to have a designated month at all further illustrates a lack of seriousness when addressing the history of our nation in such a way that it is a factual sharing of experiences and contributions that crosses all Americans, regardless of race, culture, gender and nationality. Nevertheless, as we reflect this month, let us acknowledge that exclusion often carries with it stereotypes that are deeply buried in our history.

Therefore, I call on politicians, community leaders, law enforcement, educators, those that promote faith and all who profess to appreciate diversity to demonstrate that to have diversity and inclusion, there must be more than one skin color, and all must be respected.

The Rev. Clyde H. Brooks, of Arlington Heights, is chairman of the Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations.