You guys we talked about this, but it looks like everyone still hasn’t figured out how wrong blackface is.
A student from the University of Central Arkansas was suspended on Saturday (Oct. 29), after he was seen depicting Bill Cosby at a Halloween party in blackface. KTHV reports Sigma Tau Gamma member Charles ‘Brock’ Denton attended the party on Friday (Oct. 28) in a colorful sweater depicting Cosby’s Bill Huxtable character from The Cosby Show and smeared black face paint.
Denton washed off the paint once he was informed of his ignorance, but that didn’t stop him from posting a photo beforehand with the caption, “It was a bold night” on Instagram. After it had been picked up on Snapchat, the post went viral. Before deleting his account, the college student admitted he was unaware of blackface’s origins and asked his critics to stop sending death threats.
“I am the farthest thing from discrimination,” he wrote. “As a matter of fact, I fight for equality every day. I have been writing a book for two years in what it really means to be a good person. I am by no means better than anybody else. Social media has corrupted society in regard to heated controversial topics such as this. I apologize from the bottom of my heart and absolutely never intended this to happen the way it did. I never EVER would have done this if I’d known the domino effect that [would] follow. I swear to everyone that I have never stereotyped a person based on how they look. It’s not me. I hope this situation will end without me being killed over a Halloween costume. We will never achieve peace if we only react in violence. Please forgive me.”
the actions of these students is completely unacceptable. The chapter has been suspended immediately.
— Sigma Tau Gamma (@SigmaTauGamma) October 29, 2016
The fraternity was suspended by the Sigma Tau Gamma Headquarters, and the school’s chapter was ultimately dropped. UCA President Tom Courtway released a statement about the ordeal, condemning the act. “This institution embraces all races, cultures, and nationalities,” the report said. “We strive each day to be welcoming, inclusive and diverse, and will always continue to do so.”
At this point, there are no excuses for happily wearing blackface. Many people of other ethnicities and races have dressed as brown and black people without being offensive, like these awesome folks.