1 mo. ago • 98%

B.C. councillor blames 'leftist extremists' after blackface photo surfaces online

bc.ctvnews.ca B.C. councillor blames 'leftist extremists' after blackface photo surfaces online

A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.

Colwood Coun. Ian Ward on Monday addressed the photo in a statement on his X account after the picture, which was originally published on a personal family blog, surfaced on social media in recent days.

Ward acknowledged he posed for the photo wearing a Washington Bullets basketball jersey, a gold chain and a wig, with his teeth coloured gold and his hands and face painted black.

58 comments

"times change"

Bro thinks 2007 was the Johnson administration.

79
- I'm not sure what year blackface became for reals not okay. Definitely after the mid80s but also definitely before 2000
  
  8
  
  We knew it was wrong in the 90s, which is why edgelords like this dude (and Trudeau) were into it.
  
  9
- Seriously, was blackface such a rampant thing in the aughts? It seems like everyone was doing it, but I wasn't aware of it at the time.
  
  7
  
  No it wasn't. Even in the 90s we knew it was wrong.
  
  17
  
  Well, just a few years earlier than this guy's black face, a movie called White Chicks came out... two black dudes playing white face in an entire Hollywood movie (coincidently, filmed in B.C).
  
  I don't ever recall outrage over it, though.
  
  That said, I guess we're lucky that our politicians are only playing black face during costume parties, rather than wearing white hoods during regular business hours! LOL
  
  -12
- People are saying in the 90s but I know we had a guy dressed as a terrorists with a brown face on Halloween day when I was in highschool back in 2002 and no one cared, but maybe it's because slavery isn't part of our history and that part of US culture hadn't influenced us yet... These days people like to act like it wasn't accepted for disguises around here 20 years ago even though it actually was. Hell, I know for a fact we even had some on TV after 2005 and no one cared...
  
  7
  
  People still think Group X is funny and not problematic at all
  
  1
Everyone already knows this is wrong in so many levels and I completely agree.

But also, how the hell is that 50 Cent?! 50 Cent isn't known for having an afro or wearing a Bullets jersey. Wear the G-Unit tank top, wear a head band, wear a baseball cap with a durag. Wear a bulletproof vest. At least have a higher quality piece.

Dafuq is this shit?

41
- He's very racist
  
  28
- He was probably searching his memory for a cool black guy and he could only think of 50 cent
  
  But he's exposed how stupid and ignorant he really is being because 50 cent's never had an afro
  
  23
I don't know who this guy is, but his response seems ultra shitty.

Wondering if everyone else thinks this would have been a reasonable response: "it was a different time, black face wasn't seen as raciest in the circles i kept, i apologize for any offence i caused, it won't happen again"

30
- I grew up in Texas and was taught that shit like that wasn't even remotely acceptable well before 2007.
  
  20
  
  Grew up in Virginia in the 90s and early 00s, and black face was definitely something people knew was racist.
  
  However, my foster brother's elementary school hosted a costume party for thanksgiving one year, where you had to dress as either a pilgrim or an Indian. :/
  
  12
  
  TBH I went to school in Mansfield and they were still doing "Slave For A Day" until the mid 90s until someone pointed out it was mostly Black freshman being picked.
  
  It was supposed to be a "fun" way to raise funds for whatever school program, and also for freshman to see a senior classroom. When your school district has a history of being one of the last districts to be forced to desegregate, though...
  
  7
- If you did blackface after the release of Bamboozled, no pass.
  
  9
  
  assume your talking about https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215545/, never saw it
  
  2
- It was a different time... 2007 🤣
  
  5
- That response is certainly better. The type of person to wear blackface is also the type of person who wouldn't apologize, though.
  
  3
- His response could've only been worse/better if he had said "sorry, I learned from my prime minister".
  
  Though at least JT acknowledged it was wrong lol
  
  2
- I think just about anything would be better than what he said.
  
  I wouldn't say that it was a different time, or anything about the circles I kept.
  
  I'd go with:
  
  Clearly, I was ignorant of the harm my costume could cause. In the seventeen years since that photo, I've learned a lot about Canada's history of racism and how harmful stereotypes further marginalized racialized Canadians. If I had better understood the iniquity that racialized Canadians faced, and continue to face, I never would have engaged in what I now recognize and denounce as a gross and harmful caricature.
  
  My detractors imply that people can't change. They're wrong. People can change, and our town can change. I work hard to make this a thriving, welcoming community and I know that we shouldn't let anyone distract us from the important work we have to do.
  
  1
Leftist extremists??? More likely someone he treated badly in high school finally hitting back.

29
- It was on the ex-wife's blog that was allegedly hacked. Something tells me it wasn't hacked.
  
  12
Lol 2007 wasn't 100 years ago. We knew blackface was wrong in 2007

20
- A guy I went to HS with did it in '05 on Halloween. Ironically also dressed as 50 cent which is supposedly what this guy was going for (the guy from my HS pulled it off way better tank top, bulletproof vest, doo rag and in shape vs whatever this guy was going for) The kid was fairly popular, and had a lot of black friends that gave him the OK to do it. No one really cared. If anything people couldn't believe it was him because he pulled it off so well. That guy can never get into politics now though, as I'm sure someone would dig up that photo.
  
  2
How is black face even a thing in Canada tho... That's American brain-damage...

18
- The brain damage seems to leak from the skull into the hat.
  
  13
- I mean.......they are just following the lead of the Prime Minister
  
  9
  
  You take that back!
  
  This corrupt nepo baby dindu nuffin, mate!
  
  -1
- Canada is the US, just 5 - 10 years behind
  
  3
Literally: "It's their fault for showing everyone proof of this shitty things I did."

18
That must have taken a long time to plan and apply. And that whole time he just kept thinking it was a good idea...

12
- That's what I was thinking. Most of the time when I see these black face photos surface the make up is like super patchy, clearly applied as like a last minute goof.
  
  This shit looks professionally done. Look how well it's done on his hands especially. This took hours and at no point did he think "mayhap, just mayhap, I should consider a different costume, given I clearly have political aspirations"
  
  6
The blackface merits the disappointment, but wow the gold teeth and chains take this to a whole other level.

12
- It's actually so bad. It's like racist stereotype bingo
  
  4
Is it "anonymous antisemitic, anti-law enforcement, right wing extremists" that keep bringing up the Justin Trudeau blackface photos?

11
Justin Trudeau does it: it's a hitjob by cons

This fuckhead does it: kill him.

-2
- As far as I can tell there's general outrage about both. Although keeping score, this guy did it a decade or more later.
  
  2
How much you want to bet he was (rightly) critizining truedo

-3

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