Outrage as school board member is pictured dressed in blackface for 'Serena Williams'... and insists it was in tribute to the tennis star
- Anna Bonham is a representative on the Iredell-Stateville school board in North Carolina
- She dressed in blackface to portray Serena Williams for Halloween about five years ago
- The photo of her costume was printed in a local newspaper last week
- Colleagues believe the photo was given to the paper by political opponents running against Bonham in an upcoming May election
If history tells us anything, when a white person dresses in blackface for any reason, it will almost always end in some sort of racially insensitive disaster - especially if you're a politician, an actor, or, in the case of Anna Bonham, a school board member in North Carolina.
A photo surfaced last week that shows Bonham, the Caucasian District 7 representative to the Iredell-Stateville School District, dressed as African American tennis phenom Serena Williams.
According to Bonham, the outfit was for a Halloween party she went to nearly five years ago.
Bonham's costume is complete with a tennis racket, a poofy black wig and a pink tennis outfit - as well as a brown turtleneck presumably to represent Williams' dark skin and brown face-paint reminiscent of Al Jolsen in The Jazz Singer.
Blackface: North Carolina school board member Anna Bonham wore this 'Serena Williams costume' to a Halloween party about five years ago
Blackface is often deemed offensive because of its implied stereotypical caricature of African Americans.
North Carolina State University Associate Professor Blair Kelley explained why blackface is almost always deemed offensive in an article published on the website thegrio.com
'Blackface minstrelsy first became nationally popular in the late 1820s when white male performers portrayed African-American characters using burnt cork to blacken their skin. Wearing tattered clothes, the performances mocked black behavior, playing racial stereotypes for laughs,' Kelley wrote in her article.
Recently, Caucasian Dancing With the Stars personality Julianne Hough earned some negative headlines when she attended a Halloween party dressed in blackface, and Jewish New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind also was criticized when a photo of him in blackface was discovered by the media.
And on Wednesday, Bonham became the latest to be criticized for what many consider to be an offensive costume when an article was printed in the Statesville Record & Landmark that showed her in her Serena Williams costume.
Colleagues say Bonham doesn't have a racist bone in her body, but agree that the costume was not the best choice
'There was absolutely no ill-intent,' Bonham told WBTV on Friday. 'I am an avid tennis fan and player (I play several times a week). Serena is my favorite player.'
The photo, which appeared on her Facebook page, was removed after the image was published by the newspaper and the public began to weigh in on her choice of costume - she says she removed the photo because of the 'increased media attention.'
John Rogers, who also is a member of the school board, says he spoke with Bonham and believes that she truly regrets the photo.
'I wouldn't have done it,' said Rogers in an interview with WBTV, calling the costume a bad choice.
'I don't think there is a racist bone in her body,'he added.
Bonham is running for re-election to her post on the school board, and Rogers thinks the photo may have emerged now as her opponents are trying to discredit her candidacy.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2608610/Caucasian-school-board-member-criticized-dressing-blackface-Serena-Williams-Halloween-costume.html#ixzz2zNY4Y4FF
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