Philadelphia, Jan. 2, 2019 – City Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District) on Wednesday issued a revised statement on an offensive Mummers Parade performance on New Year’s Day:
“Many people who viewed clips of this performance, including myself, believed a performer portraying Jay-Z was a non-black person in blackface. We believed that this was yet another skit demeaning people of color, because every year Philadelphians are embarrassed and outraged by a few Mummers Parade performers displaying bigotry and intolerance.
“It was just a few years ago that the brigade in question embarrassed our City by insulting and mocking the trans community – at a time when trans women, and particularly trans women of color, are still highly vulnerable to violence and poverty.
“Whatever the truth is of yesterday’s performance – if the individual portraying Jay-Z is in fact a member of this brigade, for instance – people of color know minstrelsy when we see it. This event and related organizations undoubtedly have much more work to do to make all Philadelphians feel welcomed and included in this annual New Year’s Day celebration.”
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Photo: Antoine Taveneaux used under Creative Commons license.
