Courtesy of "Granny Standing for Truth."
"They had reduced all of who I am and the history of Jamaica and culture of Jamaica to these negative connotations of weed smoking, black skin, rastas. In this instance, it was meant to be ridiculed and seen as something that was fun and acceptable. It was humiliating as though your race is somehow a costume for baffoonery, as though somehow I was invisible or less than a person. It was really tough to have to walk by that. It’s a very painful reminder of a time when we weren’t considered people. I don’t think that was anyone’s intention but it was still deeply disturbing."
The above comes from Anthony Morgan, law student at the University of Montreal, who was less than pleased with the Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) business school's attempt to honor five-time World, and three-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt.
Dressing up in blackface was, and still is seen as a way to openly mock blacks and other dark-skinned individuals for the entertainment of fellow whites. Ditto for dressing up in "yellowface" or "brownface." Basically speaking, it's just bad form to do such a thing, even if it is for a noble intention.
There may have been a few people in that picture who honestly and genuinely didn't know any better. And then there are those who knew better, but did it anyway for whatever reason.
When one of the group members noticed Morgan, he allegedly yelled: "Look guys, we’ve got a real black!" He then turned to the crowd and continued chanting: "Smoke some weed! Yeah mon! Yeah mon!"
And then you have the assholes. You'll always have those no matter where you go.
In a rare moment of clarity for the world's largest streaming video provider, YouTube's removed the video listed on the Jamaican Observer, as "a violation of YouTube's policy on depiction of harmful activities." Considering this is the same organization that turns a blind eye to internet stalking and ethnic bigotry in most cases, this is a step up for the Google-owned and operated entity.
Hat tip to GrannyStandingforTruth
