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A Dallas Cowboys cheerleader does blackface

Halloween is my favorite holiday of all the holidays-turned-consumerism fest in America, as it allows me to get into a ridiculous character and eat free candy. However, it’s also the worst holiday ever, because many Americans feel that it’s a day off of being decent, tactful human beings.

Walk around any college campus and you’ll see every stereotype: men ridiculing drag queens and it be socially acceptable, people squinting their eyes to appear Asian and crowd after crowd of crass costumes.

Nothing makes me madder, though, than when people do blackface aka painting their faces a dark brown color to resemble African-Americans. Enter Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Whitney Isleib, who committed the cultural crime by donning blackface for her costume of soon-to-be incarcerated Lil Wayne.

The pictures of the cheerleader were tagged on Facebook, leaked first to Deadspin and then all over the internet.

Isleib covered her face, arms, hands and chest with brown paint and is seen posing next to a blackface T-Pain and insulting “Mariachi” Mexican mockeries. Apparently the dress code was disgustingly offensive, because it looks like everyone was playing their part in insulting and offending every group of people in America.

Some have argued, “Isn’t Halloween just a silly holiday? It’s funny when people put on blackface because it’s necessary to portray African-American celebrities.” Wrong. People need to go back to U.S. History class and understand the historical significance of wearing blackface. In the 19th century, white actors painted their faces black, falsely enlarged their lips and performed in minstrel shows to represent archetypes of racism against black people, and slaves in particular.

Without lecturing on the history of slavery and racism, I’ll get off of my soapbox and say that Whitney Isleib isn’t the only one who commits these offenses. There are so many other ordinary Americans doing it, too, but her role as a pseudo celebrity puts her in the spotlight and sets an example. Blackface isn’t cool, kids. Just don’t do it.

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