Racism and Halloween

This article was sent to me by a friend and I wanted to share it. I did NOT write this article. The blog address may be found here. I am republishing it here to spread the word. I think the STARS program mentioned within is an excellent program and I think the author, Melissa, did a fantastic job on the article. Please visit the website and look at their other articles. http://lissawriting.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/racism-think/

 

“We’re a culture, not a costume.” STARS, a student org at Ohio University

Posted by Melissa on October 23, 2011 · Comments Off

These incredible posters were created by the student organization at Ohio University called Students Teaching Against Racism (STARS). Amazingly, these posters became popular over Tumblr on their president’s blog site (here). Their mission is “to educate and facilitate discussion about racism and to promote racial harmony and to create a safe, non-threatening environment to allow participants to feel comfortable to express their feelings.”
Here’s a statement about the posters from the organization:
Any questions about the posters can be sent to OHIOUSTARS@gmail.com. We are so proud of all the support but it’s overwhelming; we have less than 10 members in our group. We ask that you do not personally email any of the exec’s or message their personal Tumblrs. Thank you guys so much for the love! The purpose was to educate and create dialogue and it did. We have a meeting with a lawyer on Monday so we can protect our posters, and the posters will be all over Ohio University’s campus this week! Again, thanks for the support and have a happy Halloween!
— Executive Board of STARS from Ohio University

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Thanks STARS for sending out this important, truthful message.
These posters act as a public service announcement for colored communities. It’s about respect, human dignity, and the acceptance of other cultures (these posters simply ask people to think before they choose their Halloween costume). Although some Halloween costumes aren’t as racist as the blackface minstrel shows back in the day, they harken to similar prejudices. What these costumes have in common is that they make caricatures out of cultures, and that is simply not okay.
Here’s a brief update:
1.) I had to disable comments for this blog post since there are some rude, racist people out there.
And 2.) Interestingly, I received over 3,000 views on this blog post alone.
I had no idea I would get this many views on my blog because I wanted to share an important message created by STARS. I’ve been thinking all night why this message was such a firecracker, and I think I may have an answer. On HIMYM, Barney jokingly said that Halloween was the day where women could bring out their inner sluts. All jokes aside, Halloween is also the day where people can bring out their inner whatever, and their inner racism is an unfortunate thing that comes out on Halloween. I’ve received a lot of racist and hateful comments on my blog post because of these important posters. Some people say the posters are trivial, petty, contrived, and stupid. Another person said, “Fuck you . . . grown up asshole.” I can only assume they meant, “grow up asshole,” but the Freudian slip is a little too funny. These messages are for grown ups who care when people cross the line between costumes that are similar to blackface minstrel shows and costumes that are just for fun. Another person brought up the scenario of a sad Caucasian person holding up a picture of a cowboy. There’s a difference between cowboy costumes and, say, slutty geisha costumes. Cowboys are viewed reverently in American society while geishas are viewed as the Japanese high-class version of prostitutes, which isn’t necessarily correct. When people let these images slide, there’s a perpetual and incorrect prejudice that becomes permeated in American society. It is simply not okay for people to compartmentalize colored communities. This is why I wanted to share these posters on my blog; they have something important to say that strikes a difficult string in people. What amazes me more about these posters is the kind of negative responses I received from people. These posters only send out a message of, “It’s not okay to compartmentalize my culture,” and people respond with hate and anger. I don’t know why so much people responded that way, but I realize now when imperative messages about human dignity and respect get out, people get angry.
Again, I feel the need to reiterate the statement that these posters are not created by me but were designed by the student organization STARS. I did not make these posters; I only wanted to share them. The email of the organization who created these posters is found above.