Black face-paint to be banned at Arizona State U

It was a blackout game, meaning that fans were asked to wear all-black clothing, but painting your face black opened a very old can of worms

A student wearing blackface to a recent football game has outraged members of the Black and African Coalition, and they are helping write a bill to be presented to Tempe Undergraduate Student Government that will prevent insensitive incidents like these from happening in the future.

Several students were photographed at the blackout football game against UCLA wearing blackface and the photo was posted on news organizations’ websites as a sign of school spirit.

However, BAC President Kyle Denman said the photo shows insensitivity and ignorance to the diverse student population on campus.

“The historical context of blackface is that it is demeaning to the African-American culture,” Denman said. “It doesn’t show school spirit; it represents cultural insensitivity at the end of the day.”

The bill will help bring awareness to racial issues at ASU events and the insensitivity that is taking place on campus, Denman said.

Tempe USG Senator Isabelle Murray, who is writing the bill, said she has heard people speaking about the blackface not really being an issue.

“I know some people who have said it’s not really blackface, he just painted his face black but if you take that picture out of context, how does that reflect on ASU?” she said.

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