Illustration by John Hiller/ Staff Illustrator
Jordan Smith
Contributing Reporter
[email protected]
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has recently been criticized for doing blackface during a skit at Auburn University more than fifty years ago.
Blackface is a racist practice that has roots in minstrel shows.
Ivey admits that she does “not recall ever dressing up in overalls or in blackface. I will not deny what is obvious. I fully acknowledge-with genuine remorse my participation in a skit like that back when I was a senior in college.”
Although not remembering a campus radio interview from 1967, Ivey’s action from that skit should not be forgotten or swept under a rug.
Ivey’s actions are not excused because she was a senior in college and she did not foresee how her actions would affect her or those around her in the coming years.
Alabama is infamous for its painful racial legacy. The horrific violence and unequal treatment that constantly lives on today through the actions of white individuals. Ivey’s actions have triggered scrutiny and anger from the community.
Ivey stated that “we have a long way, for sure, but we still have a long way to go.”
Alabama is not far from the actions of the 1960s.
Representative Terri Sewell, the state’s only Democratic House member, tweeted that “Governor Ivey’s admission today only deepens open wounds’ and her ‘words of apology run hollow if not met with real action to bridge the racial divide.”
Ivey’s actions are not acceptable and they were horribly offensive.
We are responsible for intention and intentional actions. Your actions affect everyone around you, not just yourself. Our words and actions have relationships with other people.
Every decision we make in our lives has an impact on our future. We must consider the consequences before we rush into action.
