After both Virginia's Governor and Attorney General admitted applying blackface while in college. They have apologized, but I'm still wondering how people that old could fail to understand how offensive their actions were to many of their fellow Americans.
One excuse I have heard is that it was in the past, and it was a time that was less sensitive to the feelings of Black Americans. Bullshit! I am a person who grew up in the 1950's and 1960's -- a time when segregation was still the law here in Texas (and throughout the South). But as I teenager, I knew that doing blackface would be an offensive and insensitive thing. It was just common decency.
And that's why I was shocked to see the results of this poll. It shows that 34% (about one-third of all adults in U.S.) believe it is acceptable for a white person to apply blackface. And among Republicans, that figure rises to 50%.
It is NOT acceptable, and anyone who believes it's Ok is at least incredibly insensitive, and very probably racist. The fact that so many in this country find it acceptable just tells me the country still has serious problems with race (and racial justice). The only good news in the charts above is that the country seems to be moving in the right direction -- with those under age 29 being significantly less accepting of whites using blackface (and I believe, race as a factor in general).
The charts are from a survey by the Pew Research Center -- done between January 22nd and February 5th of a national sample of 5,599 adults, with a margin of error of only 1.7 points.
