Editor:
On Wednesday the 18th of September, the New York Times released a yearbook photo of Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau in blackface, taken at an event in 2001 where the theme was Arabian Nights.
The picture caused public outrage as it directly opposed the values of multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion that are held closely by the Canadian people and have been championed by Mr. Trudeau himself over the last 4 years.
When asked about the incident, the Prime Minister issued apublic apology saying,
"I shouldn't have done it. I should have known better. It was something that I didn't think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do."
In the same interview he was asked if there had been any other incidents where he had put on black/brown face and he said he could only recall one other time in high school when did it for a talent show.
Now, as I was still trying to stomach my disappointment, Global News then released yet another video of the Prime Minister in Blackface which seemed to have been be for another occasion, separate from the other 2 incidents. I was annoyed at the sight of this picture because Blackface is racist, insensitive and ignorant, and it does not take into account the fact that discrimination is an ongoing experience for many people of colour.
As an international student in Canada, the picture was a jarring reminder that this is not my country.
To put it simply.
Where I come from, government officials are synonymous with bad news and politicians are never who they say they are. This is easy to swallow because at least it’s consistent, and it is a fact of life.
But now when Blackface becomes one of the many skeletons hidden in a Canadian Prime Ministers (PM) past, it definitely grabs attention. Especially if the PM builds his brand and reputation around being #Woke (which means being conscious of racial discrimination in society and other forms of oppression and injustice).
With elections around the corner, Trudeau now looks like he is only sorry he got caught, because there have been many occasions where he could have brought the subject at hand to light. For example in May when, Ralph Northam’s incident reignited the Blackface conversation in the United States. Luckily for Trudeau, throughout his term he has taken notable action in creating policies that reflect the values of feminism, diversity and equity across the board, so Canadians of color may be willing to let this slide, but only elections will be able to confirm that.
What’s wrong with Black/Brown face and why does this matter?
For someone who may still be wondering why Blackface shouldn’t be your Halloween costume this year, allow me to enlighten you.
According to music scholar Jon W. Finson, Blackface originated in the USA in the 1800’s as part of the Minstrelsy plays that were put on as a form of entertainment at that time. The word itself refers to when white actors and actresses covered their bodies in black/brown make up in order to represent the black community of slaves at the time.
As an art form, the plays were used to simultaneously try and explain the black slaves experience whilst also re-imagining rural life under different social ideals. Blackface was such a problem then and now because it ‘popularized inaccurate representations of black people while preventing them from representing themselves.’ It enforced the stereotypes and discrimination that followed people of color and seeing it re-enacted in this generation only serves as a reminder that this objectification is still prevalent to this day.
September has been a month of sorts. Beginning with the passing of Zimbabwe’s Mugabe, Trudeau’s Blackface footage, Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament in the UK and finally the impeachment enquiry launched against Donald Trump. In one way or another, these headlines deeply explored the characters and integrity of these leaders, so perhaps before we head to polls in November we should revisit the old age question - what makes a good leader?
If the Prime Minister at 29 years of age felt that wearing blackface made a fitting costume, then behind closed doors what does he really think about all the non-white Canadians who elected him into power? For me blackface images created two people, a public Justin Trudeau and a private one.
The big question for October is which Justin is running for office?
Rutendo Munatsirei is a student at Simon Fraser University.
