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Racist Halloween costumes: Geez, can’t you take a joke?

Baby in dreadlocks cap | Mom-101

 

Over the past few weeks, my daughters have been driving me insanely batty over Halloween costumes. Evidently nine is the age at which you want to express your independence and go as “your own thing,” while seven is the age at which you want to come up with something collaborative with your older sister or friend as a sign of solidarity. Fun times.

While I was brainstorming with Sage about what she could be (I’m voting for Zombie Elsa and Zombie Anna, but so far, I can’t convince her that my ideas are always awesome) she suggested that she and her best friend could go as each other.

I asked her how exactly she planned on dressing like her friend, bracing myself for the answer I knew was coming.

“Well, I could put brown face paint on my face…” she started, before I cut her off.

Her best friend was born in Ethiopia.

Should you ever be interested in explaining the offensive history of blackface and minstrelsy to a child and doing it in the most awkward way possible, I can give you my exact script at some later date. Continue reading

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