Blackface

In the beginning of 2019, we had a series of "blackface" incidents that came under the spotlight in the United States. One recent, but the other two, of US politicians no less, are history coming to surface. Most bothersome to me, though, was that these were people of my generation. Governor Ralph Northam increased the insult with fumbling through his apology, initially saying the photo does not represent who he is now. That, along with a track record he can point to, one might take as genuine. A day later, he denied the initial photo but said he wore blackface as a part of a costume as Michael Jackson and was about to demonstrate his moon-walking skills before his wife stopped him, suggesting it was inappropriate. Some defenders suggested that it was the sentiment of the time. It was the 1980s. That is my time as well. That is the time of Michael Jackson and the Cosby Show (we will just focus on all the positives of the show). I grew up watching The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Diff'rent Strokes. I am somewhat skewed; I am a true Yankee. Other than a couple of early childhood trips to Florida, we never went anywhere South of Washington, DC other than I spent time in Northern Virginia, Fairfax County and Arlington right near DC. In 1984, when Northam's offensive photo was taken, I had yet to take US History, but I know I would have had some basic knowledge of the Mason-Dixon line, the Underground Railroad, that there had been slavery and it caused the Civil War, and I did a report on Maryland in 8th grade and it is the Free State so I must have covered it. Yet, I also recall being astonished that even in Maryland - I learned about a decade later when living in Baltimore from a friend that attended the University of Maryland College Park that when she went there in the 1960s they had separate drinking fountains. It is not that I was oblivious to racism; there was plenty of it in suburban Detroit where I spent a fair amount of my childhood, but the South was another animal.

The situation in Virginia turned into a complete debacle. There were calls for the Governor to step down, making Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, an African-American, Governor. But then Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson come forward with allegations of sexual assault sparking calls for his resignation.

Next in line would be Attorney General Mark Herring, but he then announced that he also wore blackface to a party in the 1980s. In a Teen Vogue article on February 7, 2019, Lucy Diavolo in a subtitle notes "Nobody knows what's going to happen." Northam went silent briefly, then went doing his mea culpas throughout the state. Justin Fairfax denied the allegations, saying they were consensual (not that they didn't occur) and that he took polygraph tests. Recently, he sued CBS for damages over the interview with the women. Everyone has stayed in their positions.

Most recently, we have had the reports of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. I am sure for a very large number of Americans, they haven't even heard the news; just as a very large number of Americans don't know who the Canadian PM is or that they even have a Prime Minister or a Parliament. That said, more Americans know of Trudeau than of his predecessors, and Canada has become more notable on the world stage in recent years in part due to Trudeau - his Liberal Parliament and his charisma, charm, good looks, and not-to-mention descendant of the most infamous politician in Canadian history. The Trudeaus took a world stage like Canada had never had before. I remember my Father came home one day and told a joke when I was a young kid - "it looks like Canada is throwing a party, Margaret is out laying the Stones." Some of it was crazy, but it also brought a country that father Pierre referred to as the "mouse sleeping next to the elephant" into the spotlight.

Justin Trudeau and blackface disappoints me the most, but doesn't shock me as much as it should. I spent part of my childhood near Canada outside of Detroit. My parents went to Montreal in 1976 during the Olympics; I went to Toronto at the end of the 5th grade and when the CN Tower was relatively new. I am a graduate of Concordia University in Montreal. I have lived in Toronto for a short period. I have visited 7 of the 10 provinces of Canada. I am certainly more exposed than most Americans and even the average Canadian. For that matter, I am of part Canadian heritage.

Trudeau, it seems, has somewhat opened the immigration floodgates. Trudeau consistently touts its country's diversity. When I was in a hotel in Vancouver recently, I watched him in a short video talk about it and it seems to be the general message in every tourist video ad nauseum, as though perhaps they might be justifying themselves. Does a tram ride really need to justify its diversity? Is that what is going to make me take it? Canada has taken in far more Syrian refugees, a calculated decision that certainly plays well within Canada and on the international stage, in comparison to the US. Yet Canada hasn't jumped in to assist their neighbors to the south with the fleeing populations from  Guatemala, Honduras and elsewhere in Spanish speaking Latin and South America. Canada has a goal of 1 million new permanent residents by 2021. These are skilled workers and based on a merit based system that President Trump so admires. Canada also has less people than California in no small part because they largely kept their doors largely closed to immigrants for decades. They better invite someone in if they are to sustain.

Ever so good looking, Trudeau pops his head in for a selfie with prom goers while taking a run in Stanley Park (Vancouver) and rides in Gay Pride parades. But Justin wearing blackface not once, but at least 3 times, and as old as 29 (he is 47) in 2001... Diversity should come with sensitivity.

TIME via The Post Millennial

It seems that Northam is on a rebound with voters, or at least swinging upwards, from media reports. According to The Hill on August 26, Northam has risen over the last 6 months to a 37% approval rating, with 29% disapproving. It doesn't seem to provide clarity about the other 33% . Trudeau has a national election in Canada in October. This will be more fresh on Canadian minds. It is not Justin's first scandal recently and Canadians are not as conditioned to accepting them as Americans who have grown to find them a part of political life in the US, much like dealing with mosquitoes in a park. Trudeau's other scandals, however, are far less egregious than the seemingly countless number of charges that have been alleged against the current US President. Elbowgate is something that, charmingly, is uniquely Canadian. Americans couldn't wrap that into a major scandal and I don't see it the case in Britain, where Parliament acts like spectators at a futbol match. Joshua Lawson, a journalist and graduate student, shows the Liberal party pulling through and gives you a quick comparison of American vs. Canadian politics in The Federalist. Other polling and media reports are as wide ranging as the True North, strong and free (Canadian National Anthem). Whatever the fate of Northam, Trudeau, or any of the others, it is clear that the entire continent is long overdue for some real true sensitivity training.



Polling on Trudeau:
Reuters
National Review
Edmonton Sun

Click here to read "Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s blackface scandal lays bare America’s racism problem" from the South China Morning Post from February 2019