A white man darkened his face, neck and arms as part of his Tiger Woods costume for an event that was part of Canebrake CC’s annual Member-Guest tournament. After a video that included him was posted on Facebook, comments were made that the image was racist, and the video was taken down. Canebrake issued a statement apologizing to anyone who took offense, and to reiterate that “there was no bad intent” and that the guest’s costume “does not reflect who we are as a club.”
A man who appeared to be African-American on a video posted on Facebook from a party held at Canebrake Country Club in Hattiesburg, Miss. was actually a white man in blackface, sparking commentary on social media that eventually led to the video being taken down and the club issuing a statement apologizing for any offense that may have been taken, the Hattiesburg American reported.
The party was held during an event on October 11 following Canebrake’s annual Member-Guest golf tournament, the American reported. The club billed the party as a Red Carpet Celebration and asked attendees to “come dressed as celebrities, icons, famous duos …”
The band that was hired to perform at the party, Madewood Street Music, then posted a video of its appearance, under the heading “Madewood Street Music at Canebrake Member Guest Party,” in which a guest who came dressed as Tiger Woods appears. Upon closer inspection, the American reported, it was clear that the guest was white and that he had darkened his face, neck and arms as part of his costume.
After the video was posted on the band’s website, the American reported, a screenshot with a blowup of the man in the Woods costume was posted on October 18 on the Facebook page of Sable Mayberry, a student at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The screenshot was posted with the comment, “Anyone know who this man is? Let’s make racism [blackface] wrong again.”
Mayberry’s post then prompted the band to issue this statement, the American reported:
“Madewood Street Music was hired to perform for the annual Canebrake Country Club Member Guest Golf Tournament. We were not aware of anyone at the party wearing black face until it was brought to our attention when someone saw a video posted on our social media. Once we became aware, we immediately removed the video.
“We do not condone this person’s actions.”
Mayberry’s posting also prompted the American to contact Canebrake CC, a ClubCorp property, but officials from the club did not immediately return calls seeking comment, the newspaper reported.
But Canebrook did issue a statement to the University of Southern Mississippi’s Student Printz newspaper, which had also picked up the story, the American reported. That statement read:
“The club recently held a private event where attendees were encouraged to dress as celebrity couples or someone famous. A guest of one of our members attended as Tiger Woods. Our understanding is that there was no bad intent and does not reflect who we are as a club. We apologize for any offense caused by this video, which has been taken off our Facebook page.”
Mayberry told the American that while she was not surprised to see the image in the band’s video, she was still disappointed by it.
“It was not a shocker,” Mayberry said. “It’s Halloween time and I understand how people may not have a good moral compass.
“Further thoughts that I had when I was talking to friends, who are also African-American, [were that] this makes you think because these could be regular people that we see out on the street, but behind closed doors they think that’s OK,” Mayberry added.
People need to be aware of and understand that wearing blackface is not acceptable, Mayberry said. “This isn’t normal. This isn’t OK,” she said. “I don’t want them to feel they can get away with doing something like this. This is something that we’ve got to talk about.”
Mayberry said she shared the photo on Facebook not because she wanted to bring attention to the man, but to raise awareness that racial insensitivity still exists in 2019, the American reported.
“We shouldn’t be scared to bring it up in conversation,” she said, adding that she hopes the people who were at the party, the man’s friends or even the man himself, will look at the picture and consider the impact. Her hope was to raise awareness that it’s not a joke, nor is it acceptable.
“They’re setting an example for the whole community,” she said.
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