Memo to Native American activists: If you've got a problem with the team name "Redskins," don't dress up in blackface for Halloween.
Right?
But one tribal chief who's been agitating for the Washingon Redskins to change their name apparently didn't get the message. The Independent Journal reports:
Every year, photos of Halloween revelers donning blackface trickle out to the daylight of the internet. But they rarely feature people like Terry Rambler, chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona.
This year, Rambler dressed as Jamaican musician Bob Marley, complete with dreadlocks wig, rasta beanie and what appears to be blackface. But the costume is an odd choice for Rambler, who joined other tribe leaders, in signing a pledge opposed to the name of the Washington Redskins.
The Independent Journal displays a photo (taken from his Facebook page) of the gray-haired Rambler wearing a business suit, and also a screen-grab of his (reportedly since-deleted) Halloween-costume post, where a photo shows him with noticeably darker skin and what appear to be coal-black dreadlocks. The article continues:
The Apache Tribe chairman is in Washington, D.C., this week for the White House Tribal Nations Conference.
In the White House’s “Tribal Leader Briefing Book,” a section on sports mascots recommends President Obama ban “the display of racist paraphernalia” on federal grounds:
“The racist and denigrating name and logo of the Washington NFL team — and other sports franchises that denigrate Native peoples — have no place in the federal government agencies. …
“As the nation’s largest employer, a ban on racist sports images in the workplace by the federal government would set an example for other employers to follow.
American Indians are divided on the question of whether the name of Washington's NFL franchise honors Native American bravery (as the team claims) or denigrates their skin color. But a majority of black Americans think that blackface for Halloween is unacceptable.
The moral: As Prison Planet's Caleb Howe puts it, "In the end, whether it’s a red face or a black one, one thing is clear, don’t put on a pious one if your costume has a big beam in its eye."