About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 2018)
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com She (Times gainesvilletimes.com Monday, October 29, 2018 Good fun or bad taste? In wake of Kelly comments, debate empts over Halloween costumes crossing racial lines TERRY TANG I Associated Press DOUGLAS MILES I For the Associated Press Above: Amanda Blackhorse speaks through a megaphone while protesting outside the Phoenix office of Yandy.com, a retailer of “sexy Native American” costumes on Wednesday. For some ethnic and racial groups, Halloween has long been haunted by costumes that perpetuate stereotypes and instances of cultural appropriation. Top: Protesters display a sign outside the Yandy.com office. MARVEL STUDIOS/DISNEY I For the Associated Press This image released by Disney and Marvel Studios’ shows Chadwick Boseman in a scene from “Black Panther.” NBC talk show host Megyn Kelly’s comments about blackface on Halloween have reinvigorated a debate over costumes that cross racial lines and what’s appropriate at a time when diverse movie and TV characters like “Black Panther” have become hugely popular. BY TERRY TANG Associated Press PHOENIX - When Colo rado attorney Jeff Schwartz asked his 7-year-old son what he wanted to dress as this Halloween, the answer was clear: his favorite movie superhero, “Black Panther.” Schwartz said his white son’s choice of a black char acter didn’t give him pause. “I didn’t give it a second thought,” said Schwartz. “I think that if my son wants to idolize a character — be it a black character or a white character — race doesn’t need to come into it at all.” NBC talk show host Megyn Kelly’s comments about blackface on Hal loween have reinvigorated a debate over costumes that cross racial lines and what’s appropriate at a time when diverse movie and TV characters like Black Pan ther have become hugely popular. The issue has reverber ated across social media, from magazine articles about white children wear ing Black Panther costumes to protests against costumes that perpetuate Native American stereotypes. Social media debates have focused on whether politi cal correctness is spoiling the spirit of the holiday. The fallout was swift for Kelly, who wondered on her show why dressing up in blackface for Halloween is racist: NBC said Friday it was canceling “Megyn Kelly Today.” She found little support from her NBC colleagues, including A1 Roker who called on her to apologize to people of color nationwide. He later was asked on Twitter if a wom an’s white son was OK to dress as Black Panther. “Sure he can. Just don’t try to wear dark makeup,” Roker wrote. Others chimed in on the thread, including Schwartz, whose son only wants to don the Marvel character’s vibranium suit. “We should encour age our kids to have black heroes whether they’re white or black kids. That’s healthy,” Schwartz said. Some articles warn white parents away from such a choice, arguing that while Black Panther’s fabled homeland “Wakanda” isn’t a real place, the charac ter’s race is essential to his identity. Elise Barrow, a black mother of three in New York City, said she and her husband tried to persuade their 5-year-old son to be Black Panther, but he opted to be a dinosaur instead. Barrow said she was torn by the debate. “Kids want to be what they want to be. I’m not going to prevent them,” Bar- row said. “If my son wants to be Captain America, I’m not going to say no. ” A similar issue cropped up in recent years with the ani mated features “Moana,” set in ancient Polynesia, and Pixar’s “Coco,” which centers on a Mexican boy named Miguel and his fam ily. A few months before “Moana’s” November 2016 release, Disney pulled a cos tume based on the character of Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson. The ensemble included a brown bodysuit with Polynesian tattoos and a faux-grass skirt. Some argued that it was off-put ting to have a child wear the skin of another race. Jim Quirk, a white father of three in St. Paul, Min nesota, said adults should stop projecting concerns about race and gender onto what is essentially “a kids’ holiday.” “They want to be prin cesses, doctors, Black Pan ther or whatever,” Quirk said. “They do it because they want to be like them. It’s adults who put meaning onto these things.” But he acknowledges there are some things that are over the line, such as blackface. “You shouldn’t be disre spectful,” Quirk said. Calling out cultural appropriation is what drives Amanda Blackhorse, a long time activist against the use of Native images for mas cots and logos. On Wednes day, Blackhorse and others demonstrated outside the Phoenix headquarters of Yandy.com, a lingerie com pany that has been selling “sexy” Native costumes.” Her group delivered an online petition with thou sands of signatures call ing on Yandy to stop using Native American culture for costumes. “The people have always looked at or seen Native people through stereotypes — through headdresses, buckskin and fringe,” Black horse said. “This company is perpetuating that. They think that’s who we are. They don’t see us as differ ent tribes.” The group wants Yandy to discontinue the line, issue an apology and donate any proceeds from the costumes to agencies that help Native American women. A spokes woman for Yandy did not respond to a message seek ing comment. Yandy’s far from the only retailer offering such costumes. Amazon.com and other mainstream sites offer Halloween-wear based on Asian stereotypes such as a geisha or “dragon lady.” There are also Mexican- inspired outfits that include a poncho, sombrero and mustache and a “sexy seno- rita” dress. Kelly’s blackface com ments, meanwhile, left many outraged. “Back when I was a kid that was OK as long as you were dressing up as like a character,” Kelly said in discussion with an all-white panel. Blackface dates back to the 1830s when white per formers would put on dark makeup, wigs and exag gerated costumes, mock ing slaves, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of African Ameri can History & Culture. US tourist helps stop would-be Magna Carta thief MATT DUNHAM I Associated Press In this file photo dated Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, The Salisbury Cathedral 1215 copy of the Magna Carta is installed in a glass display cabinet marking the 800th anniversary of the sealing of document at Runnymede in 1215, in Salisbury, England. British police said Friday that cathedral alarms sounded Thursday afternoon when a person tried to smash the glass display box surrounding the Magna Carta in Salisbury Cathedral, and a man has been arrested. BY DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON — An American tour ist from Louisiana helped stop a hammer-wielding thief who unsuc cessfully tried to steal the Magna Carta at Salisbury Cathedral, working in tandem with a church employee to prevent the man from escaping. Matthew Delcambre, of New Iberia, Louisiana, told The Asso ciated Press that he and his wife Alexis were sightseeing in the southwestern English city when a man tried to shatter the glass encasing the precious manuscript in the church’s Chapter House. After Alexis tried to raise the alarm to others, Delcambre and other bystanders banded together to try to hold the thief back behind the doors of the Chapter House. When the thief pushed past them, the 56-year-old IT expert gave chase into an outer courtyard. He grabbed the man’s arm near the courtyard gate and knocked away the hammer. A church employee tackled him and held him down. “It wasn’t me by myself,” he said. “It was completely a group effort.” The Magna Carta, which was protected by two layers of thick glass, wasn’t damaged. Wiltshire police said Saturday that a 45-year-old man was freed on bail until Nov. 20 as officers con tinue their investigation. Salisbury Cathedral’s Magna Carta is one of four existing speci mens of the 1215 charter that established the principle that the king is subject to the law. It is con sidered the founding document of English law and civil liberties and influenced the creation of the U.S. Constitution. The document, Latin for “Great Charter” was short-lived. Despotic King John, who met disgruntled barons and agreed to a list of basic rights, almost immediately went back on his word and asked the pope to annul it, plunging England into civil war. It was re-issued after the king’s death. Even so, its importance can not be underestimated, as it has inspired everyone from Mahatma Gandhi to Nelson Mandela. Mat thew Delcambre, the director for the Center for Business & Informa tion Technologies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said he has been a bit taken aback by the attention his efforts have earned, but told his story so that his efforts would not be exaggerated at the expense of others. Of all those who played a part in corralling the thief, he credits his wife Alexis first and foremost, since it was she who noticed the thief coming out of the bathroom wielding the hammer and tried to get help. He played down earlier reports which depicted him as the hero, and said the people who should get the credit are cathedral workers and volunteers who tried to protect the Magna Carta. “The heroes are the staff employees of the cathedral who protected the document, helped catch the guy and helped retain him until the police got there,” he said. “I strictly was an assistant.”
