Meaning of digital blackface | Babel Free

Definitions

The practice where nonblack people co-opt online expressions of black imagery, slang, catchphrases, or culture, often to convey comic relief or express emotions.

neologism, uncountable

Examples

“In truth, the show is a farce of Black intellect, and as for the image of brazen ignorance Cita so proudly flaunts – if she is an apt representation of a silly-sassy sister – she's not the type of image Black folks should look to for “unique views,” especially when, comparatively, the computer-generated character Cita is just a case of “digital blackface.””

“Thankfully, it's a rare in-person performance today that features a white actor made up as a minstrel. But what some call “digital blackface” is all too common.”

““[W]e have the new phenomenon of Digital Blackface in the tech space,” explained Sedgrid Lewis in his article “Top 3 Types of Digital Blackface.” “Digital Blackface is the practice of non-Black people's claims of Black identity through social media sites and technology. […]””

““It’s a concerted effort to put on basically a digital blackface,” Shireen Mitchell, founder of Stop Online Violence Against Women told The Daily Beast. Mitchell said she’s been observing these impostor accounts since 2013, long before Trump’s ascendancy.”

CEFR level