Last year the Merrymakers from Padstow, who have been celebrating 'Darkie days' for centuries, changed the name to Mummers Day. All over the West country you will still find lanes and roads called Darkie Lane or Darkie Road. These have not been changed as they, too, go back centuries. As for it being associated with slavery, there is no historical link with the slave ships and no evidence of a slave ship ever coming into Padstow. The so called afro wigs that are shown in photos, which tend to be from the 1970's, tended to be bright pink or blue, and have not been worn for years anyway, and there has been no singing of 'minstrel ' songs for many, many years. The 'minstrel' songs became part of the general pub singing culture in the 50's and 60's as they toured the pubs and that is what the general people in Padstow, not the Merrymaklers necessarily, were singing then. That was ordinary people joining in with the folk tradition. The people of Padstow black their faces,[when he was alive, the west indian postman in Padstow used to black up too] or black them with a white cross, which is our own Cornish St Pirans Flag, as they have done for centuries, as a form of Guising, which happens, not just in Cornwall but in many other parts of the country too. Guising comes from the term to disguise, and as in Cornwall the easist and most readily available thing to cover faces with was dust from the mine workings, black it is. As this was a form of begging from your neighbours and the people you worked for, people would go in disguise so they would not be recognised. Twice now, Padstow has been brought to the DPP and the CRE only for it to be found that it is not racist and there is no case to answer. This year a magazine contacted all the MP's in Cornwall asking for it, and all other black faced traditions in the country, to be banned. The MP for North Cornwall, Dan Rogerson, who lives in Bodmin and has been going to Padstow for May Day, Darkie/Mummers days and Carols, since he was old enough to bunk off school to go, wrote an excellent and authoritative reply, using examples and information from many eminent folklorists to explain to them exactly what it was all about and about other black faced traditions in the UK. I know. He phoned me from the House of Commons and I was taken out of my classroom to speak to him and I was able to put him in touch with people all over the country who had the sort of credentials required. Mummers Day was covered this year on local television and various catters who were here with me celebrating Christmas were able to see exactly what all the hot air is, or really isn't, about. As therre are so many black faced traditions in this country isn't it about time we stopped picking on Padstow. Until a few years go hardly anyone knew about it including many Padstow people. Not one of the MP's or peope who have 'reported' it to the police or CRE have actually ever been to see it. It has all been done on inaccurate hearsay. If you want to criticise it, then come and see it and find out exactly what it is all about before you make your decision. This year Mike O'Connor has amended the Wikipedia entry about it and added some sources you may wish to research.
And Surreysinger, I am in Cornwall. Think you might have guessed though!