Dwan Reece: The origins of blackface and Black stereotypes | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: Jiayi Wang 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

When I was 10 years old,

我 10 岁的时候，

we traveled from Colorado to New Jersey to visit relatives

圣诞节那天，我们从科罗拉多州 到新泽西州去拜访亲戚。

at Christmas time.

We did a host of a variety of things.

我们做了各种各样的事。

I actually got to see the original cast in "The Wiz"

我还看了《绿野仙踪》的原班演员

and did a lot of sightseeing.

并且到处观光。

But one of my favorite moments was to stay up late at night

但我最喜欢的时刻之一 却是晚上熬夜，

and wait till everyone else had gone to bed,

特地等其他人都上床睡觉了，

and then I would sneak downstairs to watch television.

然后我会偷偷溜到楼下看电视。

A host of old movies that I probably had no business watching,

一大堆我可能不该看的老电影,

such as "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Oklahoma,"

比如《雌雄大盗》，

还有《俄克拉荷马》，

that was a little OK.

这个还行。

But I remember one evening coming across a show.

但我记得有一晚 偶然看到一场表演，

It was an old movie,

是一部老电影，

and it must have been "White Christmas"

而且肯定是《白色圣诞节》 或者《假日旅馆》这一类型的。

or “Holiday Inn” or that type.

But it was a musical.

但它是个音乐剧。

And I started watching,

我开始看，

and then they started to do this musical scene,

然后他们开始了一个音乐场景，

and I noticed I saw Bing Crosby in blackface.

我看到了把脸涂黑的 平·克劳斯贝（Bing Crosby）。

And I was confused.

我很困惑。

I couldn't quite understand

我不太理解

what the blackface had to do with the singing and dancing.

涂黑脸和唱歌跳舞能有什么关系。

That was my introduction to blackface minstrelsy.

那是我对黑脸滑稽剧的初次认知。

Blackface minstrelsy originated in New York, and not the South

黑脸滑稽剧在十九世纪三十年代 发源于纽约，

as a lot of people would think,

而不是大多数人

in the 1830s.

可能会认为的南方。

It was an incident where white actors would blacken their faces with burnt cork,

白人演员会用烧焦的软木 涂黑他们的脸

paint on bright red lips,

画上鲜红的嘴唇，

exaggerate the whites of their eyes

夸大凸显他们的眼白，

and put on a tightly coiled wig

并且戴上紧紧卷起的假发，

to create caricatures of African Americans on the American stage.

在美国舞台上表现 非裔美国人的滑稽形象。

The typical minstrel show was a parody of Black culture,

这种表演的典型节目就是

song and dance and speech,

对黑人文化、音乐和 舞蹈以及演讲的滑稽模仿，

interspersed with stump speeches, jokes,

穿插着政治演说、笑话、 音乐插曲和戏剧小品。

musical interludes and theatrical skits.

The cast included a roster of recurring characters.

演员阵容包括一系列 反复出现的角色。

The interlocutor acted as the emcee.

对话者担任主持人。

You had Mr. Tambo and Mr. Bones as the end men.

坦博（Tambo）先生和 博恩斯（Bones）先生最后收尾。

Then you also had characters like the clownish slave Jim Crow,

还有像滑稽的奴隶吉姆·克劳 （Jim Crow）这样的角色，

which was also the name of the Jim Crow laws

这也是我们所知 美国南部吉姆·克劳法的名称。

that we knew in the American South.

Or the maternal mammy, a hypersexualized wench;

或者像奶妈， 一个过度性感的女人;

an arrogant dandy, Zip Coon; and the lazy, childish Sambo.

傲慢的花花公子， 茲普·库恩（Zip Coom）；

还有懒惰、孩子气的 桑博（Sambo）。

The caricatures were often brutal,

这些滑稽可笑的模仿通常很残忍，

but not to the white audiences

但对于嘲笑文盲奴隶的滑稽动作的 白人观众却并不残忍，

who laughed at the antics of the illiterate slaves

as they sat secure in their own superiority.

因为他们安于自己的优越感。

The image of the dancing, simple-minded buffoons

那些跳着舞、头脑简单的滑稽剧 演员的形象展示了公众的想象力，

captured the public's imagination

and spread across the country like wildfire.

并且像野火一样极速蔓延至全国。

Blackface minstrelsy grew

黑脸滑稽剧发展为 19 世纪 美国最受欢迎的娱乐形式之一。

to be the most popular form of American entertainment in the 19th century.

Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain spoke highly of the American minstrel show,

亚伯拉罕 · 林肯和马克 · 吐温 对这一类型表演有很高评价，

applauding the characterizations and the source of its humor.

对其人物塑造和幽默来源表示赞扬。

But just as it entertained,

但在它娱乐大众的同时，

it also dehumanized the subjects of its ridicule,

也践踏了被嘲笑对象的尊严，

leaving the abolitionist Frederick Douglass

废奴主义者弗雷德里克·道格拉斯 （Frederick Douglass）

to describe blackface minstrels as

将黑脸表演者形容为

“the filthy scum of white society

“从我们这里偷走了天生不曾拥有 肤色的白人社会肮脏人渣”。

who have stolen from us a complexion denied them by nature."

Ironically, after the Civil War,

讽刺的是，在南北战争之后，

African Americans forged their own careers on the professional stage.

非裔美国人在专业舞台上 塑造了自己的职业生涯。

The route to success often meant appropriating the mask

通往成功的道路往往意味着 使用曾经嘲笑他们的人的面容。

that was used to mock them.

White audiences also embraced Black performance

白人观众也欢迎 在当地社区表演黑脸演出。

in their local communities.

These amateur minstrels used instructional guides

这些业余表演者使用指导手册

that provided them with jokes, routines,

提供表演所需的笑话、 套路、歌曲和服装。

songs and costumes they needed to put on their own shows.

Such was the habit of politicians, fraternal orders, colleges,

这是政客、兄弟会、大学、 高中和社区表演的习惯，

high schools and community performances,

who carried on this tradition well into the 20th century.

他们将这一传统 一直延续到了 20 世纪。

The professional minstrel show left an indelible imprint

职业黑脸剧表演给美国人的心灵 留下了不可磨灭的印记。

on the American psyche.

The images and racial stereotypes

也就是对形象和种族的刻板印象，

that continue to circulate in American society

继续流传在美国社会上，

on sheet music, magazines, books,

在乐谱、杂志、书籍上，

vaudeville, theater, film, television,

歌舞杂剧、戏剧、电影、电视上，

radio, records

广播、唱片上，

and all kinds of formats.

以及其他各种形式。

These stereotypes were a powerful reinforcement

这些刻板印象大力地巩固了 白人至上和黑人低等的思想。

of the ideas of white supremacy and Black inferiority.

The news headlines of the last few months

过去几个月的头条新闻

have shown us that the legacy of blackface minstrelsy

向我们展示了黑脸表演的遗产 仍然阴魂不散。

continues to haunt us.

In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center,

在皮尤研究中心（Pew Research Center）的 一项调查中，

they found that one in three Americans say that blackface is always

他们发现，三分之一的美国人表示， 黑脸装扮总是可以接受的，

or sometimes OK

或有时可以，

if it's used in a Halloween costume.

如果是被用在万圣节服装中。

So let me ask this question.

所以请允许我提出这个问题。

What is the appeal of darkening one's skin

为了模仿一个不同种族的人 而将皮肤变黑有什么吸引人的？

in order to impersonate someone of a different race?

Blackface minstrelsy was born out of the realities of slavery

黑脸滑稽剧诞生于奴隶制 以及种族隔离这一现实情况，

and racial segregation,

and its continual reappearance echoes the pain and suffering

它的不断重现反映了 黑人所感受到的痛苦和苦难，

felt by Black people

whose bodies and cultures were presented as strange and grotesque.

他们的身体和文化 都被表现得很怪异。

It is a persistent reminder of the racism

它持续不断地提醒人们，正是 种族主义和偏见孕育了它的存在。

and prejudices that bred its very existence.

The way it infiltrated society is a clear example

它渗透社会的方式 就是一个明显的例子，

of how deeply ingrained racism is in this country.

表现出种族主义 在这个国家根深蒂固。

And the racial subjugation embodied by blackface minstrelsy --

黑脸滑稽剧所体现的 种族征服及其历史上的延续，

and perpetuated through a continuum of its history -- is a form of aggression,

是一种侵略形式，

a psychic wound that refuses to heal.

一种难以愈合的精神创伤。

Racial impersonation of any form cannot escape this legacy.

任何形式的种族模仿 都无法逃脱这一历史遗产。

So it's time to shift the power of representation,

所以是时候改变代表的力量了，

to develop more expansive narratives

以便能够更广泛地叙述

about the rich complexity of who we are as human beings.

我们作为人类的丰富复杂性。

Acknowledging and recognizing blackface for what it is

承认和认知黑脸自身本质

and what it symbolizes

以及其象征意义

is a step in the right direction.

是朝着正确的方向迈出的一步。

Educating ourselves on how stereotypes reinforce racist ideologies is another.

了解刻板印象如何强化 种族主义意识形态是另一步。

Success in either case depends on an honest self assessment

无论哪种情况， 成功与否都取决于

我们对社会和文化偏见的 诚实自我评估，

of our social and cultural biases and how they came to be.

以及这些偏见是如何产生的。

The legacy of blackface minstrelsy is our shared history

黑脸滑稽剧这一遗产 是我们共同的历史

and requires all of us to take collective responsibility

并要求我们所有人共同承担责任

in dismantling its power to oppress and humiliate.

瓦解其压迫和羞辱的权力。

The next time you're confronted with someone in blackface

下次你再面对一个画黑脸的人

or see a racist stereotype,

或看到种族偏见的时候，

tell me: What will you do?

告诉我：你会采取什么行动？

Thank you.

感谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）