Blackface has always been something very controversial but it appears for some folks in Germany it’s not that big of a deal.
Friday, German chancellor Angela Merkel sang along with carolers from all over Germany, including a ‘Three Kings’ performer who was depicted in blackface, shown in the photo above.
This isn’t the first time the country has dabbled in blackface.
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Hyper Vocal reports:
In September 2011, political party leader Martin Sonneborn, dressed in shiny blackface, slapped his made-up visage on a billboard with the JFK-esque slogan “Ick bin ein Obama (I am an Obama)” emblazoned across the top. In January 2012, a theater troupe defended its use of an actor in blackface, saying, “When we couldn’t find an elderly black actor who fit the role and could speak with a perfect German accent, we opted for blackface make-up.”
In another racially touchy incident in 2009, a frozen food company released Obama chicken fingers but admitted it wasn’t aware some might see the racist overtones of stereotyping blacks with a fried chicken product.
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It doesn’t end there. In that same year, Germany’s Dresden’s Zoo renamed a mandrill, a monkey-like primate, “Obama,” in an effort to “honor” the U.S. president.
These matters are clearly highly offensive to most American’s but it appears some Germans are not quite on the same page.
For more on Germany’s offensive incidents, head to Hyper Vocal.
Photo Credit: AP/Michael Sohn
