美国国家公共电台 NPR In New Orleans, The Fight Over Blackface Renews Scrutiny Of A Mardi Gras Tradition

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Virginia legislature adjourned¹ last week after a tumultuous session in which photos from the governor's medical school yearbook page showing a man in blackface were published by a conservative website. And that not only rocked the Virginia statehouse, it led to revelations about other white politicians appearing in blackface and a national conversation about why white people started wearing blackface to begin with.

But that's called attention to another aspect of the story, one that will be on display on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans this coming week - and a tradition that goes back 110 years. Members of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, who are for the most part African-Americans, blacken their faces for their annual Mardi Gras parade. They also put on costumes featuring grass skirts, feathers and bone necklaces. But it's the blackened faces that have drawn² the most scrutiny³. We called historian Shantrelle Lewis to help us understand the history of the Zulu Krewe, or club, in New Orleans. She's studied the use of blackface in different parts of the world, and she's with us now from member station WHYY in Philadelphia. Shantrelle Lewis, thank you so much for joining us.

SHANTRELLE LEWIS: Thank you, Michel.

MARTIN: So you are from New Orleans. How did the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club get started in 1909 to begin with?

LEWIS: The Zulu club was actually founded in response to the racism⁴ that was present in Mardi Gras, where black people were not allowed to participate in the historically white krewes, or Mardi Gras organizations, such as Rex and Comus and Bacchus. So the Zulus decided⁵ to create this parade. And so it was a way to combat some of the racism and segregation⁶ that was taking place in Mardi Gras.

MARTIN: So why the blackface? And was this - has anybody ever called attention to this before? Has anybody ever objected?

LEWIS: Oh, yeah - plenty of people. I mean, there's been times throughout history the NAACP said it was problematic. So many black people - and even during the Black Power movement, they were also receiving a lot of flak for the blackface. But if you're looking at the Zulu club within a tradition of masquerading and masking, painting one's face is a part of Carnival⁷ - or it's a part of a masquerade. And the Zulus will say that they could not afford masks. It was cheaper and it was accessible for them to actually paint their faces black.

MARTIN: OK. Can I just ask you, though - what about, like, the big white lips, that whole thing? Has anybody ever engaged with them on that question? Like, why that?

LEWIS: I mean, it's a caricature. It's Mardi Gras, so everything is exaggerated. If you look at even krewes that are traditionally white, they also have these caricatures of white people and European features. And so it's an exaggeration. And while it's connected to minstrelsy, historically, I think that it was more rooted in this idea of a masquerade - a mask.

MARTIN: All right. So earlier this month, the Zulu club released a statement about the use of blackface, calling it a traditional cultural expression that, quote, "has always been about celebrating African and African-American culture." But there was a protest in front of the Zulu clubhouse a few weeks ago from Take 'Em Down NOLA, this is this group that's been very vocal⁸ in the debate over the removal of Confederate monuments. And now they're turning their attention to the use of blackface in the Zulu parade.

LEWIS: Right.

MARTIN: I'm not going to ask you speak for the entire city. But I am wondering, though, what are you hearing from, like, relatives and friends in New Orleans? Like, how do they feel about this back-and-forth about it?

LEWIS: I mean, people are just really dismissive, to be honest with you. I think that New Orleans understands New Orleans' traditions. And the city has been very insular⁹ - right? A lot of our traditions have just existed without the participation¹⁰ and the scrutiny of people outside of New Orleans. And so I think that for the average black person in New Orleans, including those members of my family, they just simply do not connect the blackface in Zulu with minstrelsy or making a mockery of black people. And they most certainly are not looking at it as an offensive tradition.

MARTIN: That's Shantrelle P. Lewis. She is an historian and curator and lover of her hometown of New Orleans.

LEWIS: I love it.

MARTIN: And we reached her in Philadelphia. Shantrelle P. Lewis, thank you so much for talking to us.

LEWIS: Thank you, Michel. And (speaking French) laissez les bons temps rouler.

1 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

7 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

10 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。