Two students from the University of Pretoria shared this picture of them in blackface and dressed in domestic worker costumes as a joke on Facebook.
However, the picture has sparked a massive debate on social media sites after it went viral, reigniting the age-old conversation on racism in South Africa and the ghost of Apartheid.
The photo was quickly deleted, but already some people had made screen grabs and it swiftly disseminated on Twitter, sparking outrage among black people everywhere.
The university has waded in to say that disciplinary action will be taken against the students involved in the incident for harming the school’s reputation, but that doesn't seem to be enough.
The debate rages on with some saying they should be expelled, and are just a symptom of deeper issues wrong with race relations in South Africa.
Others think the University's actions should be sufficient, and suggest that maybe some black people are a bit too sensitive about blackface, saying that after all, two black men in drag and white makeup did make a movie called White Chicks in America.
I'm not really sure how I feel about blackface, it doesn't really bother me too much to be honest. And I'm wondering, is it the blackface or the domestic worker costume, or the two together? If these girls had done black face but dressed in suits, would that have made it better?
Where do you stand?
Why are White people, globally, who are racist towards Black folk,
ReplyDeleteso obsessed with Blacking up their faces ?
these two idiotai thought they were "having a laugh"
Who's laughing now ?
Maybe without the costume, what's the meaning of that rubbish?
ReplyDeleteBlackface is disgusting. It can't be separated from it's origins in minstrel shows caricaturing Black folk. Even these stupid girls in the picture, what is that if not another minstrel show?
ReplyDelete