Duke Women's Lacrosse Player in Black Face

[Pernell]

Pretty unfortunate given the photo was taken at the Women's Lacrosse Coach's home and was prominently displayed on GoDuke.com.

http://now.msn.com/duke-lacrosse-pla...ersity-website

As Duke begins to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the African American presence at Duke, I hope the University and the University community continues to elevate their sense of
conscienceness and racial sensitivity. Not that I'm sensitive, but, I can be sensitive to insensitivity. Trust me, there is a difference.

PSB, III 96'

[Mike Corey]

Fittingly, there is currently an exhibit being hosted by Duke Libraries called From Blackface to Blaxploitation.

Here's hoping the women's lacrosse program (and anyone else who saw this and saw no reason to object) is able to visit the exhibit.

[gus]

This kind of reminds me of a friend in high school who dressed up as a ghost: Sheet. Pillow case as a hood with eyeholes cut out.

There was not ill intent in his costume either, but man, he really should have known better.

[TennMike]

Yeah, you would hope they would know better. I bet they know better now.

[OldPhiKap]

This is how you learn life lessons. People do not always perceive things in the way you intend.

[Lord Ash]

I do hope that the player in question is not punished. Given the "group" nature of the costume there is no reason to believe she was doing it in any way to be offensive. I cannot help but think that, in relation to this particular case (a white person representing the only black person in a group costume), this is an issue that is maybe a touch TOO sensitive to many, although I do understand the point. Still... How would she successfully pull of that costume?

A few Halloweens ago I found myself having dinner at a Friendlys in Lancaster, PA. A buddy and I were waiting to be seated when we finally were... By a white manager in a full Don King costume, down to blackface. We couldn't believe it. At one point he sat a young African American couple at a table, and I watched... As the manager walked away, the young man of the couple sort of made a frown/smirk/can you believe that? headshake expression that summed it all up. That never would have flown further north.

[Mike Corey]

Unfairly or not, student-athletes are under a microscope--at all times, thanks to social media--and are constantly representing their university in a way unique to their role. This creates new, more rigid responsibilities. We all know that.

A rule of thumb for Halloween should be for all such student-athletes: play it safe.

Dressing up as someone of another race, innocuous though it may seem, is not playing it safe.

Now she was not the lone offender that night, but she's the one that got "caught". I agree that she individually should not be punished. But I do feel strongly that the issue should be engaged by the team and the coaches so that lessons are learned other than, "There are a lot of sensitive people out there."

[BD80]

I do hope that the player in question is not punished. Given the "group" nature of the costume there is no reason to believe she was doing it in any way to be offensive. ...

How stupid can she be? If she was that stupid to do something like that, she probably wouldn't understand why she is being punished.

Can we review her application and figure out how she was accepted to Duke? How can someone so unaware gain admission to Duke?

Where would this conduct be acceptable?

I say lower the boom.

[Wander]

How stupid can she be? If she was that stupid to do something like that, she probably wouldn't understand why she is being punished.

Can we review her application and figure out how she was accepted to Duke? How can someone so unaware gain admission to Duke?

Where would this conduct be acceptable?

I say lower the boom.

Whoa there champ. The costume is a mistake, and the girl and team should be educated about why, but being ignorant of the history behind blackface doesn't make someone "stupid" and tells you nothing about their merits to be accepted to Duke.

[Reisen]

How stupid can she be? If she was that stupid to do something like that, she probably wouldn't understand why she is being punished.

Can we review her application and figure out how she was accepted to Duke? How can someone so unaware gain admission to Duke?

Where would this conduct be acceptable?

I say lower the boom.

I have no idea the girl's background, but before we jump on this too much and blast her, here are two things to consider:

A- There are parts of the country, and most of the rest of the world, that are not as racially hypersensitive as the East Coast. Many people could and would be unaware of the stigma of blackface.

B- She wasn't the only one evidently unaware it was inappropriate. You had her teammates, the coach, and whoever uploaded the photograph to the school's website. I don't see any way you can "lower the boom" on the girl, without also going after the coach and whoever runs GoDuke.

Alternately, we can chalk it up to "lessons learned" and move on. I would bet that's exactly what happens. There doesn't seem to be ill intent here.

[Lord Ash]

Whoa there champ. The costume is a mistake, and the girl and team should be educated about why, but being ignorant of the history behind blackface doesn't make someone "stupid" and tells you nothing about their merits to be accepted to Duke.

I tend to agree with Wander here.

While older folks, more educated folks, or more sensitive folks might see the idea of a white person wearing black makeup while "dressing up" as a black person as a throwback to the offensive vaudeville/minstrel-esque era of blackface, other people (especially young people or people who might have been raised in an area/culture where race is not a major issue) might just see it as 'Well, I am trying to dress up as a Buckwheat, and if I just leave myself looking white it will look dumb,' or just as part of the costume.

While I know and understand the heavy history of blackface, I am hesitant to immediately write off anyone who does something like as being bad or racist or anything. Especially given the circumstances of this case (i.e. no apparent negative implications) I think this is maybe more a case of a group of young people who need a bit of historical context.

[BD80]

... There are parts of the country, ... that are not as racially hypersensitive as the East Coast. ...

Again I ask: where? Where would this be acceptable? Where would this NOT be considered stupid?

How can someone gain admission to a school like Duke and be unaware of the stigma associated with "blackface?"

I am not saying there was intent from a criminal standpoint, but criminal negligence could be argued. How could she have been unaware?

[Wander]

How can someone gain admission to a school like Duke and be unaware of the stigma associated with "blackface?"

I am not saying there was intent from a criminal standpoint, but criminal negligence could be argued. How could she have been unaware?

You are vastly overestimating the degree to which the stigma associated with blackface is known and understood by the general population, especially the younger population.

I'm fairly certain I didn't know anything about it in 2004 when I was admitted to Duke and learned about it at some point during college, and I like to think I turned out okay and am a somewhat smart guy.

[Mike Corey]

Again I ask: where? Where would this be acceptable? Where would this NOT be considered stupid?

How can someone gain admission to a school like Duke and be unaware of the stigma associated with "blackface?"

I am not saying there was intent from a criminal standpoint, but criminal negligence could be argued. How could she have been unaware?

While I share your frustration that anyone with a high school diploma could be unaware of the history and stigma of blackface, I think the answer to your question--and I don't mean to sound crass about it--is that it's not in the curricula of most schools, nor is it included in most textbooks (this is a guess).

Should everyone know about it? Absolutely. But most don't.

And heaping this at the feet of this individual girl is unfair, IMO, since no one seemed to object to this: none of the coaches, the SID staff, the other teammates, etc. They're all responsible for this, and all responsible for learning from it. I'm confident they are and will.

Challenging her academic credentials seems unfair, and counterproductive, IMO.

A few years ago--crap, 8 years ago--I worked for the Duke Chronicle. We had one sportswriter who had attended one of the finest schools in the country comparing Luol Deng's arms to those of an orangutan. He did it unaware of the long and sordid history of comparing African Americans to primates. That changed after the fact, as he studied up on it a great deal, and apologized to Luol accordingly.

Did that mean he wasn't properly educated--or "stupid"? Absolutely not. In fact, he's just taken a job with The Atlantic Monthly. But he was ignorant of something that many are. That doesn't make it right or acceptable or justifiable. But it does explain it in a way that is different from he's just stupid.

[CDu]

While I share your frustration that anyone with a high school diploma could be unaware of the history and stigma of blackface, I think the answer to your question--and I don't mean to sound crass about it--is that it's not in the curricula of most schools, nor is it included in most textbooks (this is a guess).

Should everyone know about it? Absolutely. But most don't.

And heaping this at the feet of this individual girl is unfair, IMO, since no one seemed to object to this: none of the coaches, the SID staff, the other teammates, etc. They're all responsible for this, and all responsible for learning from it. I'm confident they are and will.

Challenging her academic credentials seems unfair, and counterproductive, IMO.

A few years ago--crap, 8 years ago--I worked for the Duke Chronicle. We had one sportswriter who had attended one of the finest schools in the country comparing Luol Deng's arms to those of an orangutan. He did it unaware of the long and sordid history of comparing African Americans to primates. That changed after the fact, as he studied up on it a great deal, and apologized to Luol accordingly.

Did that mean he wasn't properly educated--or "stupid"? Absolutely not. In fact, he's just taken a job with The Atlantic Monthly. But he was ignorant of something that many are. That doesn't make it right or acceptable or justifiable. But it does explain it in a way that is different from he's just stupid.

"Stupid" is most certainly the wrong word. "Ignorant" is much more accurate.

[Reisen]

Again I ask: where? Where would this be acceptable? Where would this NOT be considered stupid?

How can someone gain admission to a school like Duke and be unaware of the stigma associated with "blackface?"

I am not saying there was intent from a criminal standpoint, but criminal negligence could be argued. How could she have been unaware?

Sure... Alaska. North Dakota. Montana. Arizona. Military bases. All places where black-white relations don't carry the same baggage they do on the East Coast, and especially the South-East.

With all due respect, and I don't know your age, but I suspect this is a generational thing. If it's not something they're teaching in school, and not something they would have ever seen... How are people supposed to know about it?

Further, do they really even need to? At what point is it ok again, because we've evolved past a point where it has a negative connotation, and instead to where it's no different than putting on a blonde wig to look like Thor from Avengers.

Note: I'm not saying we're there now, but what about 20 years from now? 50 years from now?

[gus]

How stupid can she be? If she was that stupid to do something like that, she probably wouldn't understand why she is being punished.

Can we review her application and figure out how she was accepted to Duke? How can someone so unaware gain admission to Duke?

Where would this conduct be acceptable?

I say lower the boom.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that people come to educational institutions still needing education.

While I was aware of blackface being offensive (like all other important life lessons, from TV: thank you Gimme a Break!), I don't think you should be so harsh for the mistake. Hopefully she, and many others have learned from it and make proper amends.

[Lord Ash]

tswriter who had attended one of the finest schools in the country comparing Luol Deng's arms to those of an orangutan. He did it unaware of the long and sordid history of comparing African Americans to primates. That changed after the fact, as he studied up on it a great deal, and apologized to Luol accordingly.

Ohhh I remember that one. I cringed pretty bad when I read that one. Yikers.

[nocilla]

I guess I am stupid because I did not know what blackface meant or the negative connotations it carried. And I grew up here in North Carolina. Although, if I were in the situation, I don't think I would have painted my face black to portray Buckwheat. I would have tried to find another character.

[OldPhiKap]

Ohhh I remember that one. I cringed pretty bad when I read that one. Yikers.

Ask Howard Cosell about it. NYU grad, NYU law school review, incredibly bright. One statement taken in a way he did not intend, but which many others found offensive.

It was poor taste or ignorant. Fine, she's a kid. She made a mistake; learn and move on. Heaven forbid if the mistakes I made in college were still held over my head.