blackface

[ blak-feys ]

noun

1. Theater.
   1. an entertainer, especially in a minstrel or vaudeville show, made up in the role of a Black person. By the mid-20th century, these entertainers had declined in popularity because their comic portrayal of negative racial stereotypes was considered offensive.
   2. facial makeup, as burnt cork, used in this role:

      They appeared in blackface.

   3. imitation of Black skin tone, speech, traditional dress, etc., by a person who is not Black:

      White rappers are performing vocal blackface when they rap in a dialect they appropriated from the African American community.

2. Printing. a heavy-faced type, usually darker than boldface.

blackface

/ ˈblækˌfeɪs /

noun

1. 1. a performer made up to imitate a Black person
   2. the make-up used by such a performer, usually consisting of burnt cork
2. a breed of sheep having a dark face

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackface¹

First recorded in 1695–1705; black + face

Example Sentences

In 2019, when Northam came under fire for a photo from his 1984 medical school yearbook page depicting one person in blackface and another in Klan robes, Herring was among the first to call for him to resign over the incident.

From Washington Post

She addressed her use of blackface in a 2007 episode of her Comedy Central sitcom, “The Sarah Silverman Program,” even turning it into a penetrating bit.

From Washington Post

Silverman, after telling the audience that blackface — under any circumstances — is wrong, invited actor Don Cheadle onstage to explain its history.

From Washington Post

So it seems the racism of blackface has morphed into Blackfishing.

From TruthBeTold.news

The group also referred to Northam as “the blackface governor” and said he was “destroying the Commonwealth.”

From Washington Post

Was the blackface scene with Gene Wilder in Silver Streak an important step in how American audiences view minstrelsy?

From The Daily Beast

White suburbanites getting dolled up in blackface for Ray Rice Halloween costumes.

From The Daily Beast

None have performed in blackface to my knowledge, but the decade is still young.

From The Daily Beast

“In my race for the U.S. Senate, I was painted in blackface with big red lips and called an Uncle Tom,” Steele told the Beast.

From The Daily Beast

In the 1840s, blackface was the most popular “art form” in America.

From The Daily Beast

Jerry was laughing immoderately, though I admit such blackface pleasantry appealed little to my sense of humor.

From Project Gutenberg

In the upper valleys of the Alps there are many local varieties, one of which at Ossola is like the Scottish blackface.

From Project Gutenberg

They whisper it in a footnote, as it were, to their strident blackface statements about method.

From Project Gutenberg