Blackface

Earlier this year, an old yearbook photo showing Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in blackface surfaced, leading other Virgina politicians to not only condemn the Governor for his actions, but to also admit that they also wore blackface in the past. And just last week, a predominatly black high school in suburban Chicago staged a walkout after white students posted a video of themselves in blackface at a fast food drive thru.

To white people, what may seem like harmless fun is actually deeply offensive to the black community. We explore the ugly origins of blackface, and why it is so offensive with author, educator and journalist Nita Wiggins.

Episode Segments:

Nita Wiggins and the origins Blackface The ugly origins of blackface, and why it is still an issue in 2019.
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Nita Wiggins The native of Macon, Georgia, titled her memoir Civil Rights Baby because of a lingering motherly hug she shares with Mrs. Rosa Parks before an interview in 1988. Additionally, Nita dissects the effectiveness of the 1964 Civil Rights Act—which passed the year of her birth. As journalist, Nita won the (national) RTNDF’s Michele Clark Fellowship in 1989. She crashed through barriers in television journalism, from 1986 to 2009, working in Dallas, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and other cities. After 21 years on TV, Nita began teaching masters journalism in Paris, France, where her university president urged her to write her story. Nita received a BA from Augusta University in Georgia in 1986 and a European Masters from ESJ-Paris in 2010. Nita's Website