THE EDITORIAL | Ignorance not an excuse for blackface gaffe
Moonsamy went on to say that the doll was brought into the store by the staff member who wanted to showcase her"African culture".
It is hard to believe that people keep mannequins at home, but we'll go with it. That an ignorant black decided to use a blackface is not a justification. The fact is that the act was hurtful and offensive to the majority of the people in this country. What we expected from Moonsamy was an apology and a commitment to educate her staff about the ugly history of blackface, and the pain it causes for its demeaning caricature of black people through its over-the-top make-up.
But it seems like she needs that history lesson herself on why it is not okay to use a black face to promote fashion, beauty products or for comedy. The use can be traced as afar back as 1800s, when white actors used to paint their faces black in minstrel shows around the world. At the time blacks were still slaves, the acts were done to portray them as inferior and stupid and to reinforce white supremacy.We call on Dischem to send its workers, in all their stores across the country, to a workshop to teach them about race and culture sensitivity and demeaning stereotypes.
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