The New York Times isn’t the only outlet claiming white people with soot on their faces are actually portraying “blackface.” For the Times, it was Mary Poppins and the chimney sweepers.
For an opinion writer for the Arizona Central, part of USA Today, it was a photo of blue-collar workers having a drink after work.
Opinion contributor Rashaad Thomas says he was in Phoenix recently at a holiday party. The restaurant he was in had photographs on the wall, as many do, but one in particular stood out to him. This photo showed a group of seven or so coal miners, covered head to toe in soot, their faces blackened to varying degrees, drinking beer at a pub. The photo also shows one man who doesn’t appear to be covered in soot and an unhappy woman.
Thomas’ friends told him, “It’s coal miners at a pub after work.” He “asked a Latinx and white woman for their opinion.” The two said the photo appeared to be of coal workers having a drink after work.
This didn’t sit well with Thomas, who asked to speak to a manager.
“Instead, I spoke with a white restaurant owner. I explained to him why the photograph was offensive. Evidently, someone else had made a similar comment about the photograph before,” Thomas wrote.
This owner apparently told Thomas he would speak to other restaurant owners about the photo. Thomas asked him, while leaving, if he had done so yet. No, he had not immediately rushed to phone other restaurant owners during the holiday season about a complaint over an old photo of coal miners. – READ MORE