NBC decided to axe Megyn Kelly’s morning show in the wake of her ignorant remarks on the practice of blackface.
The blatant expression of racial stimulants and prejudicial practices speak to a wider problem we are seeing in America today − the resurgence of bold racism.
You see, Megyn Kelly is a prime example of a larger problem of white people deciding to play their new idea of a “white card.” In other words, they are trying to justify events, activities and symbols that are overtly racist by means of equating the lack of such events, activities and symbols as oppression to their lives or culture.
There are countless examples of “white card” implementation, but blackface has got to be the most far-reaching one to date.
“But what is racist?” Kelly asked on her morning show. “Because you do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface on Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid that was OK, as long as you were dressing up as, like, a character.”
It is always a wonder to me how the people who invented racism and bigotry do not even know how to define the likes of it.
Blackface dates back to minstrel shows that gained national popularity in the 1830s, and eventually became the symbol of Jim Crow well into the 20th Century. Yet, apparently, between then and 1970, the year Kelly was born, blackface lost its racist origin and became an annual holiday practice.
In an opinion piece published by NBC, students from Kelly’s high school strongly denounced Kelly’s claim.
“Those comments definitely do not speak to who we are in Bethlehem or at Bethlehem Central High School, from which she graduated in 1988,” said Students for Peace and Survival at Bethlehem Central High School.
“Blackface is not acceptable anywhere in America, and it is not acceptable in our town. We weren’t alive when Megyn was in high school but, in the recollection of many of our parents who grew up around here, it was not acceptable even in the 1980s town that she knew.”
Another example of a 2018 white card transaction is the use of the N-word.Many white people often play their white card by claiming that since the word is used in popular culture, they have the right to use it. I even had one guy tell me that it was his constitutional right to say the N-word in his favorite Kendrick Lamar song.
The use of the N-word is a racist practice being flipped as “reverse racism” toward white Americans. How dare black people hold white people to a standard of refraining from bigoted language.
Whether it is the confederate monument or the flag debate, whether Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter, white people are quick to play their white card in popular discourse.
Frankly speaking, I am not shocked that a previous Fox News superstar is also a bold racist. As for the use of blackface in modern culture, I am pleased to inform Ms. Kelly that her “white card” was declined.
Justin Franklin is a 19-year-old political communication sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee.