Last week, Megyn Kelly tackled the issue of cultural insensitivity in Halloween costumes on her NBC show. She handled it…poorly. Specifically, Kelly decided to talk about blackface, a practice generally considered taboo in modern America.
“Back when I was a kid that was OK,” said Kelly, “as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character."
But Kelly isn’t a kid anymore, and, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, the times, they have a-changed. Blackface is wrong. It always has been — even back in Kelly’s kiddie days — and while we’d hope that it goes without saying that you shouldn’t wear blackface on Halloween, or any other time of the year, the Editorial Board decided it would be worthwhile to encourage people not to engage in a practice created to belittle and caricature Black people in minstrel shows. And, while you're at it, don't be blatantly offensive to members of any other race, gender, sexuality or otherwise historically oppressed group. Turning someone’s heritage or identity into a silly little costume trivializes it.
Have (safe) fun tonight. It’s your prerogative to wear whatever the heck you want as a costume, but just, please, for the love of God, don’t be like Megyn Kelly.
