Bounty Hound I appreciate that you feel it is wrong for anyone to interpret border morris blacking up as racist, and that it is not the intention to be racist. But you must know the connotations that such an activity now carries for a lot of people. Is it not better to be pragmatic and compromise on this small aspect for the "greater good"?

I was referring to the teams mentioned earlier by Phil, where the black face is part of an overall outlandish costume- not likely to be associated with minstrelsy etc.

This creates a different effect to (for example) "the Shropshire Bedlams", where the team is dressed in jeans, trainers and rag jackets, with only their faces blacked. Certainly watching them as part of festival parades, I have felt there were visual parallels with a minstrel show that I found disquieting. Would a "Shropshire Bedlams" starting in 2014 rather than the early 70s choose that combination?

Anyway, I feel like the opinions on both sides of this debate are rather fixed and ultimately it's up to individuals to justify their actions- but don't be surprised if you have to keep justifying this particular choice over and over.