#Socialites, get into this! CNN writer and analyst John Blake has sparked a huge debate online and is getting the people talking! Blake has suggested that white people using memes of Black people is “digital blackface,” adding, it’s an “insidious form of contemporary racism.”
CNN Writer Suggests White People Using Black Memes Is ‘Digital Blackface’ & An ‘Insidious Form Of Contemporary Racism’
On Sunday morning (March 26), Blake published an article on CNN titled, “What’s ‘digital blackface?’ And why is it wrong when White people use it?”
The article essentially suggests that when white people use Black memes, it may be viewed as “digital blackface,” Blake even claims, “If you’re White [and sharing the memes], you may have inadvertently perpetuated one of the most insidious forms of contemporary racism.”
Beginning his post, Blake fires off a few viral memes of Black celebrity and non-celebrity personalities. Such as: (1) Tyra Banks’ ‘America’s Next Top Model’ meme of her screaming in anger, “I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you!”
(2) Kimberly “Sweet Brown” Wilkins telling a reporter that “Ain’t nobody got time for that!,” as she escaped an apartment fire; (3) Michael Jordan’s crying face; and (4) RuPaul drags on, “Gurrrrl.”
RELATED: Chris Brown Called Out By Group Of Black Women Alleging They Were Banned From His London VIP
Continuing his piece, Blake says “If you’re Black and you’ve shared such images online, you get a pass. But if you’re White, you may have inadvertently perpetuated one of the most insidious forms of contemporary racism.”
Blake notes that some have dubbed these viral memes “racialized reactions,” further noting that they are “among the most popular internet memes.”
Blake continues to define “digital blackface” as “a practice where White people co-opt online expressions of Black imagery, slang, catchphrases or culture to convey comic relief or express emotions.”
In layman’s terms, “digital blackface” is when white people “play-act at being Black” online. Blake then cites author and cultural critic Lauren Michele Jackson’s Teen Vogue essay on “digital blackface,” where she explains how many white people use images of Black people to express exaggerated emotions on social media.
Jackson writes, “[Digital blackface includes displays of emotion stereotyped as excessive: so happy, so sassy, so ghetto, so loud… our dial is on 10 all the time — rarely are black characters afforded subtle traits or feelings.”
She adds, “We are your sass, your nonchalance, your fury, your delight, your annoyance, your happy dance, your diva, your shade, your ‘yaas’ moments. The weight of reaction GIFing, period, rests on our shoulders.”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!
View this post on Instagram