Why Did Tenn. Congresswoman Terri Lynn Weaver Take a Picture With a Man in Blackface?

A week has passed since Halloween, but the holiday is still making headlines. That's because of the racially offensive nature of some Halloween revelers' costumes.  Tennessee Congresswoman Terri Lynn Weaver is under fire for posing for photos with her pastor, who dressed as Aunt Jemima for Halloween. And a number of people posted pictures of themselves on Facebook dressed as Antoine Dodson, the flamboyant Alabama man who rose to fame after stopping a would-be rapist from attacking his sister.

Now, there's nothing offensive about donning the tank top and bandana the African-American Dodson wore during interviews after rescuing his sister. What's offensive, however, is wearing blackface to portray Dodson, a move dozens chose to make unfortunately.  Congresswoman Weaver's pastor also donned blackface to portray Aunt Jemima, which led to public outcry after she posted a photo of herself with him on Facebook.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: blackface is wrong. In the United States, it was first used by whites who drew upon the most racist of stereotypes to mock African Americans. And guess what? It's still being used that way today. Those who don blackface typically do so to depict blackness as caricature. Think about it. Most African Americans don't have shoe polish black skin, but that's consistently how people wearing blackface choose to depict blacks. And along with the exaggerated skin coloring comes lips painted bright red--because that's what black folks look like, right?

Obviously, I'm being facetious here to make a point: Blackface is dehumanizing. It functioned (and functions) to depict African Americans as the "little black Sambo" stereotype, as something less than human.  Moreover, performers who wore blackface didn't just depict African Americans as cartoonish in physical appearance but in behavior as well. African Americans were portrayed as buffoonish darkies who lacked the intellect and sophistication that their European counterparts possessed. This was the point of blackface in a nutshell.

Because of its long and troubled history, blackface remains offensive today. It's not appropriate for Halloween or any other occasion, no matter the wearer's intention. Even today, the average person who wears blackface typically doesn't have good intentions. For the most part, they're not wearing blackface to portray, say, Condoleezza Rice, or any black person considered to be respectable. They're wearing blackface to get laughs by portraying African Americans they consider to be buffoonish--pimps, ho's, etc.

While Antoine Dodson is undoubtedly a hero, the fact that he speaks Black English Vernacular and dresses in a way some might call "ghetto fabulous" has resulted in many whites mocking him. And we all know that Aunt Jemima is just another African-American stereotype; only she's not ghetto, but a doting mammy type who loves to cook, clean and generally serve white people. Why of all of the costumes to pick from--would Rep. Weaver's pastor choose to dress as Aunt Jemima for Halloween? And why didn't Weaver herself see that an elected official has no business posing for photos with someone who's chosen to willfully stereotype blacks? Adding insult to injury is that Weaver wrote, "Aunt Jemima, you is so sweet" as the caption for the picture of herself with her pastor in his offensive drag on Facebook.

Tennessee State Sen. Thelma Harper, who's African American, was not amused when she came across the photo.

"This is what we've had to live with--making a mockery of being black and copying the language that Aunt Jemima used," she told a Tennessee television station.

The Aunt Jemima photo isn't the only racial gaffe those in Tennessee politics have made recently. Earlier this year, the state's hospitality CEO emailed a picture likening First Lady Michelle Obama to a chimpanzee, WSMV-TV reported.  And last year, a Republican aide sent out an email featuring pictures of every U.S. president. In the box where President Obama's photo should've gone, however, was a black square with two eyes. Through that email, the aide managed to call Obama a "spook" without ever uttering the word.

Blackface functions the same way.