She said her school district outside Portland is segregating unvaccinated workers because they have to social distance.
The employee said she showed up to school with a darkened face to protest in the spirit of the Civil Rights era.
The worker said she doesn’t understand why her actions are causing offense and accusations of racism.
“So, other unvaccinated staff were being told by the Newberg School District administration leads that we could not work with students unless we were six feet apart, starting right away, starting Thursday afternoon,” said the employee, who preferred to go unnamed. “On Friday, September 17, I showed up to school, and I put on some dark makeup on the parts that were showing my skin, including my hands, and I came in hopes to represent Rosa Parks, who I admire for standing up during her time when segregation was taking place. I felt like I and others who are unvaccinated, we’re starting to experience segregation.”
The district held a community meeting after the incident and the superintendent said he’s horrified, angry and ashamed about what happened.
The district points out that blackface has been used to demean Black people in the U.S.
In nineteenth-century minstrel shows, white actors used it to depict slaves as lazy, ignorant, cowardly or hyper-sexual.
The racist performances were meant to amuse white audience members at the expense of Black people.
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