Expert: John T. Aney - 3/11/2009

Question
Hi!!!  I have a school talent show in a month or two and my friend and I are going to sing.  We're going to sing either: The Dr. Cox Rant (Scrubs) or Guy Love (Scrubs).  For Guy love, Chris Turk (one of the characters in the show, is black.  We agreed that I would be J.D. and my friend would be Turk, considering that my voice is higher pitched than his is.  My problem is, I suggested to my friend to wear a...not sure what they are called, but it covers up your hair to make you look bald...and paint his face brown.  I guess it's racist, but I don't see how.  How would painting his face brown to play a character be racist?

Answer
As recently as 75 years ago, white performers used to paint their faces black and go onstage to sing "black" songs and do comedy routines.  These comedy routines were full of racist jokes and stereotypes, and it was a very popular form of comedy.  This at a time when black people themselves were often not allowed to perform on stage in many cities, and if they were, never gained any popularity.  One black performer, in fact, was only able to gain success when he himself painted his face in "blackface" and went onstage.

Ever since then, a white person painting their face to look dark - called performing in "blackface" - has held racist associations hearkening back to that bleak time in theatre history.

Its up to you to decide if you want to take that risk of being labelled racist, but I would urge against it.  A bald wig should be fine to get across the idea.

jta