What is digital blackface and why is it wrong

I did the research for you so you can stop asking.

What is digital blackface?

It is when someone who is not black portrays themself as black online using a darker skin tone on avi’s that represent you, using black emojis, or using reaction gifs of black ppl.

Reasons why it’s wrong # 1

You are using black people as an aesthetic. When you log off you are still white and have your privilege. You do not face the issues that black ppl do based on their skin tone. Black ppl are literally being killed bc of their skin.

Reason # 2

Blackface, of any kind, stems from the Jim Crow Laws.
Jim Crow is the man that created blackface. The Jim Crow Laws also mandated segregation in the 1900s up until the 1960s when it was finally abolished. But racism didn’t end bc those laws were terminated.

Reason # 3

It perpetuates black stereotypes Digital blackface allows white ppl to “play house” with black skin tones. A white woman could use a gif of a black woman being “sassy” and get celebrated. However, if a black woman were to act “sassy” in rl they would be judged harshly

Here is a quote from a Teen Vogue article about digital blackface and stereotypes:
“Black women will often be accused of yelling when we haven’t so much as raised our voice. Officer Darren Wilson perceived a teenage Michael Brown as a hulking “demon” and a young black girl who-

remained still was flipped and dragged across a classroom by deputy Ben Fields. It's an implication that points toward a strange way of thinking: When we do nothing, we’re doing something, and when we do anything, our behavior is considered ‘extreme.’-

This includes displays of emotion stereotyped as excessive: so happy, so sassy, so ghetto, so loud. In television and film, our dial is on 10 all the time — rarely are black characters afforded subtle traits or feelings.“

By using a black skin tone on a customizable character that is supposed to represent you when you are not black you are supporting digital blackface and the reasons why it is racist. You are diminishing the issues black ppl face bc of their skin, you are perpetuating stereotypes

, and you are supporting systematic racism.
Stop playing “dress up” with black skin tones and start working towards ending racism. Listen. Learn. Reflect. And Change.

Here are the articles I used:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.teenvogue.com/story/digital-blackface-reaction-gifs/amp

https://www.cio.com/article/3529975/the-danger-of-digital-blackface.html

https://www.ussc.edu.au/analysis/what-is-digital-blackface

I really appreciate people sharing this and using it to educate others bc that was the purpose.
But I think it’s important to note that all I did was use my privilege and summarize what black people have been saying for years.

It shouldn’t take a white voice for ppl to change their mind about blackface.

Make sure you continue to learn by listening and amplifying black voices. We need to listen to them.

Please stop asking me if you are allowed to use certain pictures or gifs.

I summarized what digital blackface is and why it’s bad based on some articles.

I’m a white person and cannot decide what is and isn’t offensive or what is and isn’t racist. It’s not my place.