Blackface, Call Out Culture, and the Evolution of Norms

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The Character Question

Blackface, Call Out Culture, and the Evolution of Norms Richard Thompson Ford

Blackface in the 1980s might reflect the cavalier, ill-considered racism that was pretty much in the water at the time; today it would undoubtedly reflect a belligerent assertion of white supremacy. The same behavior does not always correspond to the same motives or presuppositions.

Published on: February 11, 2019

Richard Thompson Ford is the George E. Osborne Professor at Stanford Law School and author of several books, including Rights Gone Wrong: How Law Corrupts the Struggle for Equality and The Race Card: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse. Follow him on Twitter.