Blackface Controversy Spurs Northwestern University Forum

By Jake Guidry in News on Nov 6, 2009 8:00PM

Every year the boundaries for acceptable Halloween costumes are tested. Every year those boundaries are most certainly crossed, if only for a few of us at Chicagoist that insist on wearing the Ninja Turtles costume we've worn since we were eight. Halloween in some ways has become a social experiment, measuring the capacity for tolerance by exploring what really is in fact taboo by today's standards. For some, we found out where the line was drawn after photos of two local individuals dressed as "blackface" for Halloween surfaced on the Internet a few days ago. The two who dressed in blackface are believed to be students at Northwestern University and, as a result, there has been considerable public outcry in Evanston. The university even publicly addressed the photos, calling the costumes insensitive and in poor judgment, although not in violation of any university rules.

Northwestern, in turn, hosted a forum last night for students and faculty about the photos and race relations as a whole. Hundreds showed up to the forum held in Evanston, which lasted a few hours. While most who attended found the forum productive, they felt the people that really need the education weren't there.