This discussion has come up here at Mudcat on several occasions over the years. Early on, there seemed to be near-unanimous agreement among UK Mudcatters that blackface was a tradition that had nothing to do with racism, and that it must be preserved.

There are still many who think that, but I think that many others are changing their minds. We've seen a few extremists post here, who think maybe they can take advantage of this blackface tradition to promote their own racism. And there are others who are beginning to wonder how African immigrants feel about the blackface tradition, even though they may not speak out against it.

So, at least from this side of the pond, it appears that attitudes may be changing in the UK about blackface. In the US minstrel tradition, there's no question - blackface is racist, and there's no defense for performing in blackface in the U.S.

-Joe-