The tradition of blacking your face for carnivals as did a number of people at an event in Aberaeron in Wales has no place in modern society. Tradition has a value and yet it also tells us about the prejudices of our past, the attitude to slavery And if perceptions of what it is to be black. It's rather like the perceptions of gay people that originate from the 1970s sit comfortably "Are you being served'' ?. These stereotypes are the products largely if those who were not gay, just as those who bkacked up were not black. These stereotypes are used to mock, to tease and to distinguish those who don't fit in. People who are not black or not gay say that they can't see the problem ..how could they? Those who don't think about power or analyse their roles in it never would.
Tradition is a statistical average of older perceptions. We can read
the thoughts of another world and another time. Tradition is not there
to be defended it's there to tell us how things were, both good and bad,
both wisdom and prejudice. It's not a fixed unchanging thing it's a
telescope to see where we come from and that's all. We can learn from it
and yet to defend it is wrong. It is about understanding not
preservation.
I can predict who will disagree with me . They will be those who are conservative, have no knowledge of social science or history. They will have no knowledge of other traditions, myths or folklore. They will moan about political correctness, yet they will have little political awareness. They will perhaps in many cases think there are too many immigrants, or that there is too much gay stuff on TV. They will want to go back to how things were or they thought they were. And they will no even less about Robin Hood, King Arthur and other stories. They will just fixate on the fact that it's obscene to tell people not to blacken their faces. We should know in Wales what it's like to be mocked we should not allow this to happen to others here in Wales... .
We must recognise that prejudice must be challenged wherever it appears. Understand that tradition is a running commentary on our beliefs, prejudices and outlook it is not a static thing and only the ignorant and those with another agenda think that it is. Even as a child watching the Black and White Ministries disturbed me..I already knew that no black man could apply to join...it was a legacy of the slave trade and it's culture....my late Father widely traveled in Africa brought me up to loath racism...that's really what tradition is about or should be..
I can predict who will disagree with me . They will be those who are conservative, have no knowledge of social science or history. They will have no knowledge of other traditions, myths or folklore. They will moan about political correctness, yet they will have little political awareness. They will perhaps in many cases think there are too many immigrants, or that there is too much gay stuff on TV. They will want to go back to how things were or they thought they were. And they will no even less about Robin Hood, King Arthur and other stories. They will just fixate on the fact that it's obscene to tell people not to blacken their faces. We should know in Wales what it's like to be mocked we should not allow this to happen to others here in Wales... .
We must recognise that prejudice must be challenged wherever it appears. Understand that tradition is a running commentary on our beliefs, prejudices and outlook it is not a static thing and only the ignorant and those with another agenda think that it is. Even as a child watching the Black and White Ministries disturbed me..I already knew that no black man could apply to join...it was a legacy of the slave trade and it's culture....my late Father widely traveled in Africa brought me up to loath racism...that's really what tradition is about or should be..
A more nuanced and researched article would be good here. Blacking faces is done in various traditions and countries. SOme can be traced back to imitation of black africans - as with the Svarte Pete found in Holland, Germany and Scandinavia as Santa's helper. Others can be traced back - as with Morris Dancing - to disguisement and charcoal was a ready disguise without overtones of race involved. Others are clearly offensive parodies of black cultures such as black and white minstrels.
ReplyDeleteIn Wales I do not know the carnival and if blacking is done due to coal in pits, racial aspects or disguisement. I do know that in parts of Africa colors are put on the face as disguiesement and also in ritual to assume the attributes of other beings - Gods or tricksters.
Martyn I think you should have more of an awareness about these nuances and possible justifications for opposing or supporting specific uses. For example do you also oppose November the 5th when a Catholic effigy is burnt - surely offensive to a more religiously tolerant society as we have in the UK.
This is not meant as a whataboutery, but an appeal for clarity about what is acceptable and is not. Painted faces and blacking up have a place IMHO, but contextualizing and explaining them is also behoven on those that are so dressed while performance artists. Likewise only allowing black men to play Othello can be questioned.