We checked our archives and the first reference to “digital blackface” — defined as “various types of minstrel performance that become available in cyberspace” — came in 2017, when Megan McCain was called out by Teen Vogue for using memes featuring black people. The issue came up again in 2018 when a social justice warrior tweeted that “if you’re white, please read up on digital blackface and why you should stop using GIFs/videos of black women for your own personal self-expression.” After GIFs of Oprah Winfrey went viral following her interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Slow Factory Foundation, “a non-profit dedicated to social and environmental justice,” warned us again to avoid digital blackface.
So we’re not sure why CNN recently decided to revive the “controversy” over “digital blackface,” but they did:
"If you're White and you've posted a GIF or meme of a Black person to express a strong emotion, you may be guilty of wearing 'digital blackface,'" writes John Blake | Analysis https://t.co/KlHkWWHq6x
— CNN (@CNN) March 26, 2023
John Blake analyzes:
Some may say posting a video of Sweet Brown saying, “Oh Lord Jesus, it’s a fire” is just for laughs. Why overthink it? Why give people yet another excuse for labeling White people racists for the most innocuous behaviors?
But critics say digital blackface is wrong because it’s a modern-day repackaging of minstrel shows, a racist form of entertainment popular in the 19th century. That’s when White actors, faces darkened with burnt cork, entertained audiences by playing Black characters as bumbling, happy-go-lucky simpletons. That practice continued in the 20th century on hit radio shows such as “Amos ‘n’ Andy.”
Put simply: digital blackface is 21st-century minstrelsy.
“Historical blackface has never truly ended, and Americans have yet to actively confront their racist past to this day,” Erinn Wong writes in an academic paper on the topic.
“In fact, minstrel blackface has emerged into even more subtle forms of racism that are now glorified all over the Internet.”
Wong says that digital blackface is wrong because it “culturally appropriates the language and expressions of black people for entertainment, while dismissing the severity of everyday instances of racism black people encounter, such as police brutality, job discrimination, and educational inequity.”
Recommended
Who the f**k is Erinn Wong and why should we care?
How to solve this problem?
“If you find yourself always reaching for a black face to release your inner sass monster, maybe consider going the extra country mile and pick this nice Taylor Swift GIF instead,” says Lauren Michele Jackson … in her Teen Vogue essay.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) March 27, 2023
— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) March 26, 2023
Just here for the ratio. pic.twitter.com/uqflYJYcND
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) March 26, 2023
— Bill Murphy (@billmurphy) March 26, 2023
jesus fucking christ shut the fuck up
— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) March 26, 2023
💯
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2023
Ain’t nobody got time for CNN’s ridiculousness pic.twitter.com/yygQTJ6StU
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) March 26, 2023
— Kevin Green (KG) (@KGBULLANDBEAR) March 26, 2023
— Marc Lobliner – IFBB Pro (@MarcLobliner) March 26, 2023
— Jeremy Knauff (@jeremyknauff) March 26, 2023
Same guy. 🤡🌎 https://t.co/jzFaj3Gfa0
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) March 26, 2023
Hard hitting journalism by @JohnBlakeCNN yet again! He’s the author of classic articles like “Why Bigfoot Is Getting Nervous,” “The New Threat: Racism without Racists,” “You May Be Seeing a More Woke Santa This Christmas,” and much more!
— Barrington Martin II (@_BarringtonII) March 26, 2023
— Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) March 26, 2023
— Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi) March 26, 2023
— Salomondrin 🤖 (@salomondrin) March 26, 2023
I legit would love to know what goes through the persons head who writes this insane shit
— Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) March 26, 2023
— Douglas Ernst (@douglasernst) March 26, 2023
Stupid
— Denver Riggleman (@RepRiggleman) March 26, 2023
— Dennis Herring (@dcherring) March 26, 2023
— JonnyEthco (@JonnyEthco) March 26, 2023
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) March 26, 2023
So I guess we just throw context and intention out the window and claim everything is racist from now on?
Way to create more division.
The stupidity of the trash you push out there to the masses is off the chain CNN.
— Joel Brown (@IamJoelBrown) March 26, 2023
PRO TIP: if you have to explain WHY it’s racist, nobody thinks it is.
— Jimmy Failla (@jimmyfailla) March 26, 2023
So John Blake goes to his editor at CNN and pitches a story about digital blackface, which is just a repeat of a seven-year-old Teen Vogue article, and the editor says, “Cool, run with it.”
***
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Related:
‘Digital blackface’: Social justice non-profit warns against using Oprah reaction memes if you’re not black https://t.co/GsPB831e4I
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) March 14, 2021
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