Another blackface/whiteface incident

[hoosier]

“White Chicks” not coming to VA Tech or Blacksburg
By Rachel DeLauder, Managing Editor_ of the The Collegiate Times
Published Thursday, June 24, 2004

Following lobbying from Interfraternity Council Advisor Eric Norman and several campus officials, the new Wayans brothers movie, "White Chicks,” will not be shown at the campus’ Burruss Auditorium, and Virginia Tech’s Foundation has moved to keep the movie out of the New River Valley Mall 11, which it owns, due to an gift from a local developer. It appears that any Hokie wanting to see “White Chicks” will have to leave the valley.

“This film”, says Norman, “is about the Wayan brothers. both African-Americans, using make-up and costumes to impersonate white women. Our interfraternity council has repeatedly publicized our efforts to keep fraternities from hosting ghetto parties and minstrel shows, and anything where members might wear blackface make-up and clothes. We cannot honestly enforce such policies, when African-Americans are allowed to wear whiteface make-up.”

“Last fall,” according to IFC president Nic Temple, who’s also president of Pi Kappa Alpha, “our Judiciary Council put a chapter on social probation for an incident where at least two members in blackface were at an official chapter party.” He supports the effort to ban “White chicks” from the city. “How can we enforce our anti-blackface policy, when the campus theatre is showing a whiteface flick.”

“We’re not against diversity, and our sponsoring a fall performance of the Shangri-La Acrobats, a Chinese group, proves this,” said IFC Vice President Pat Colleran, a Phi Kappa Sigma.

The nearest theatre showing the film is unknown.