he probably never even seen a black person before, because you're supposed to use BROWN coloring. he's just black, almost nobody looks that dark. i'm not sure if this kid's a racist, it's possible, the whole thing could just be an alcohol-fueled bad idea fest. emulating a black person at a party is a lot better than what they did 50 years ago.

also, i think it would be really funny if that allegedly-padded-butt girl just really has a big butt.

Only a racist would throw a party like this.  Of course he's seen black people before.  The BLACK paint was deliberate.  The idea of this party was to poke fun.  A Martin Luther King Junior Party with a bunch of white people in blackface drinking malt liquor and eating chicken?  A party where the theme is nothing but racist stereotypes  The girl is OBVIOUSLY padded.  Black paint, big booty, "gold" teeth, braids...what do you think was happening at this party.  50 years ago?  You think racism against blacks ended 50 years ago?  Nick Minucci/Glenn Moore, James Byrd, Jr, nooses in fire houses... All within the last ten years.  Don't make excuses for racism.

Loose? Hardly.  I use it where it applies

rac·ism    (rszm) KEY  

NOUN:

1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Do you think this party would have been if these feelings did not come into play?  If blacks had such a party to perpetrate another group's stereotyed culture, it would be racism, too.  This party was a bit more than "less than PC."   Racism applies here, why do you think there is such a hoopla about these types of "parties"?  It is what it is.

I didn't hear anyone discriminated against nor did I hear any declarations that the participants' race(s) were superior to anyone elses. 

If you wanna say ignorant, in poor taste, not PC, badly timed, or immature, fine.  But racist it is not. Like I said very loose...

 they had this same problem at my school a a few years before i came here, and the university cracked down big time and re-evaluated the entire system to try and make the campus a more friendly place for racial, cultural, and religious minorities. Things are a whole lot better now in that respect, although, there's still work to be done. Hopefully Dr. Gates will be as good at overseeing the cleanup of the mess of Iraq as he was at overseeing the cleanup of our university.

He's focusing on REAL life, and he has had his own experiences.  As Believe me, he is not about pretending things don't exist.  Yitzy knows. You also have to keep certain things in mind: A) he didn't grow up this way, 2) as an entertainer people also look at his in a different light than they would the "average" black jew.  At least in this country.  In Israel, people realize that Jews come in every shade, and tend not to be as ignorant to meeting a Black jew.

Racism exists everywhere.  What would be the point of just speaking out against racism in relation to the Jewish community only?  Religion does not matter when it comes to racism.  It exists and it shouldn't. Bottom line  Jews do the blackface silliness on Purim, too.  I've seen waaaayyyy too many!

What is Yitz doing to represent black judaism?  Does walking, talking and breathing do it for you?  How about the fact that when walks into ANY shul on Shabbat he garbed in bekesha, gartlach, peyot and up-hat? We've been out and I can tell you that he has people walk up behind him and STARE at his peyot.  A religious Black Jewish Man out like a beacon wherever he is.  And as a woman I will tell you, they stick out MORE THAN A WOMAN, until of course, we walk in a "Jewish" situation (i.e. shul, shiur...).  FFB here, so I know.  Did the Yeshiva thing and all.  He's existing and being the positive.  You might call him a silent activist.  That's what he is doing for black judaism.  Understand, Bendicion, when people meet us (black jews) now, they are more accepting to the next one they meet. 

Meh, this reminds me that one time I was telling my friend about how I'm pretty much descended from everything save Asian after my French class got out back in HS.  The teacher turned to me, in all seriousness, after I mentioned how my father's side had Santee Sioux and said, "But I thought you were Jewish, not Indian?"

Sadly it seems a lot of Jews have picked up the same concept as goyim, the roots are deep.  Galut has found its way into our very hearts, which is how it even exists within us in Israel ( Rav Kook ).  However, at the same time, it seems the world is being split in two.  More people are BTs now than ever, and Noachidism for once is actually popular.  Yet at the same time I swear there has to be more violence than in the past...

I'm not sure what to say.  I guess it is sad to see such things as this, yet one can hold out hope all the same.  The world hangs in a balance.

The party was obviously a themed gathering centered on black culture stereotypes.  Was it in bad taste? To me, yes, especially since it was held on MLK Day.  Had it been Halloween, I don't think it would be seen in nearly this bad a light.

 Was it racist?  I don't think so. Like a 70s theme it is poking fun at the not-so-nostalgic images people associate with American black culture, the intent is to ridicule the bad. The bad in this instance, however, seems to be at least partially aimed at the stereotypes themselves.

Reprehensible and awful are not two words I would use to describe this event.  I am actually surprised how intolerant the administration and the student themselves were, necessitating the meeting and the hugfest.

I will say that they were surprised it might seem offensive seems disingenuous, given the sensitivity to race these days. 

It would appear to me that this party may have been done out of protest of the MLK holiday.  Why else would the young white students attribute such negativity in commemoration of Dr. King?

Every year when MLK's holiday comes, you see all this stuff floating around the internet intended to discredit Dr. King.  Everything from him being a plagarist, a womanizer with a penchant for white women, a communist, a black racist, and so on.  I can't help to believe that some whites actually see the establishment of a MLK holiday as some kind of threat or encroachment upon their "whiteness" -- they act as if they are being victimized by our embrace of diversity and multiculturalism.

Is it me, or does it seem as though this country has become more racist since this guy Bush has been in office? Or maybe it's 9/11?  It's as if displays of intolerance become not only acceptable, but a means of expression and identity.

Remember the Team USA Basketball backlash?  How about the negativity that always surrounds Serena and Venus Williams these days?

Where is the supremacy of race come into this?  If it was truly aimed at making fun of stereotypes, then the intent was quite contrary to racism.  If it was not (and I happen to believe from what little I've read that manyof the participants probably were raggin on the culture) then it's still not necessarily racist. 

Are you denying that any of those images you described are not stereotypes associated with the black culture?

I don't think they are any more racist than Dave Chappelle or Eddie Murphy getting in "white face" and making fun of white stereotypes. And I find them hiliarious.

Keep creating the Racism Boogey Man and he'll never go away.  Keep crying wolf and if/when racism does make a comeback, no one will believe you.

Do you think they do trailer park parties, too?  A Springer theme, maybe?

Having never been a black man in America, you would not understand.  As blacks there are some negative stereotypes, that most of the blacks I know, do not fit.  Eddie Murphy? I'm assuming you're talking about that SNL skit he did.  At least when he did that skit 1) he played a business type white dude instead of the trailor trash types that show up on Springer.  Chappelle picks on EVERYBODY, and no, I don't agree with a lot of stuff he does.

90% if the material is on whites?  Which comedian is that?  Mose of their stuff is on LIFE EXPERIENCES, the family members that stand out (i.e. Madea type deal), and possible scenarios.  Go rent "Raw", "Runtelldat", or"DysFunktional Family" Even "Kings and Queens of comedy..."

 So what's next?  Mexican Party on Che's birthday?   If this "party" was not meant to be racist - on MLK's birthday - where were the black people? Was the "I have a dream" speech playing in the background?  Were there images in Thurgood Marshall, David Dinkins, and MLK, himself hanging up? NOPE! It is what it is. 

Wow, so much to say about this, don't even know where to start. It's a large issue with many complexities that I feel don't get touched upon. First off, the Party was racist, offensive and in bad taste. Still these words are meaningless the way they are currently used. You see, there are 2 forms of racism, and many people don't have the courage to understand that pretending there is no difference between races is just as assanine as pretending that there are differences.

Once one understands there is no difference, one can learn to see that every culture, feels, breathes, loves, bleeds and innovates for the growth of the human family. After this, one must understand that there is a difference, and humble oneself to learn the perspectives each culture and race brings to the table. I personally have loved Black music and most of the bands I've played in were mostly Black. Jazz, Hip-Hop, Blues, Rock and Roll all were made possible by the genius of African thought on American soil. For that matter, style, as it is commercially exported from America, got it's edge by stealing black culture. Then again, even Mozart had an African servant who apparently introduced Mozart to a larger musical palette. Many of the African innovations to Western culture are lost from the pages of history.

Once we learn that culture is different, we need to explore like little kids, enjoying the new found possibilities of shifts of thought. When Christianity was grafted unto Ugandan Culture, the locals had no word for a Creator. It was a foriegn concept. Now that we have exported western thinking, as Whites, it is time for us to step aside and learn how these concepts have been reinterpreted or contradicted by other cultures. And we should be fascinated by the mental possibilitie of this as opposed to scared. I'm excited by the differences and delighted at the similiarities of our human family.

Also, culture is based on localized conditions meeting the genius of any particular peoples. I'm polish and most Polish people do love Sausage and Herring. That has as much to do with the geographical location as the predisposition. Slaves in America were given scraps of meat that the slave owners didn't want. Hence pig's feet and the like. Some of the straight African food I've eaten is a far cry away from fried chicken and collard greens. That said, after playing in many Black churches in Knoxville, I ate a lot of delicious fried chicken. When I've gone to greek fests I ate baklava. Within every culture there are fewer seekers who take the plunge to explore beyond the parent culture. And every culture has a problem with the, "I do it this way because that is how my father did it."

Hence Racism is as much a side effect of the lack of curiosity about other cultures as it is of superiority/inferiority ego.

Honestly, I live in the South, and I'de rather be chillin off MLK then with some Frat Boy Racist Good Ole Boys anyday. They're not some innocent youth being tainted by "thug culture." They're Ignorant, Biased, Racist, Scared of anything different, and they might control Congress one day...

Mr McDermott. you are playing with a dangerous paradigm generalization. I have seen white good ole boys' act just as "thug" and no it wasn't MTV, it was drugs, lust, greed, same shit that goes beyond race that makes everyone act a "thug." Also, I, as a white, got F@@ked with growing up by whites, but never had trouble with Blacks. I've had rednecks in highschool pour cola on my head. Hell, one of my classes, the only reason I didn't get picked on is because of a black kid who defended me.

WE ARE NOT EVOLVED. Don't play the Hip-Hop Scape Goat. Rome burned almost 2000 years ago.