‘Fried Chicken and Grape Juice’: Comic‘s Controversial ’Black Face’ Video at BYU Goes Viral
- Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:23pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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A YouTube video of a white comedian who painted his face black and asked students at Brigham Young University about Black History Month has gone viral, both because the students at the Mormon school were depicted as ignorant and because of the comedian’s use of “black face.”
One student told Dave Ackerman he celebrates Black History Month with “fried chicken and grape juice” while another said he knows some people have “jungle fever” when it comes to dating. Still others were unable to name any significant black history figures, with one student suggesting Samuel L. Jackson and another saying, “the lady on the bus.”
By Saturday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 530,000 times and received about 1,500 “likes” to 2,600 “dislikes.”
Ackerman, a standup comic from Utah, told Salt Lake City’s ABC 4 he was going for the shock factor when he donned the dark make up, a technique considered racially offensive.
“I wanted to raise awareness in an interesting way and get a conversation started,” he said.
The video begins by showing Ackerman having the make up applied to his face and hands. From there he is shown interviewing students on campus, the majority of whom are white. Many were unable to name even which month Black History Month is observed, until one student correctly named February.
BYU officials pushed back against the video, saying they were disappointed by some of the remarks in the video but that it doesn’t represent their entire student body.
“We feel this is a misrepresentation of the sentiments and feelings on campus. We are concerned about the remarks stated in this video and are disappointed by them,” BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins told the Associated Press. “I have heard from students that know students involved and say there was some selective editing, perhaps manipulative editing. The remarks do not reflect our community of more than 30,000 students.”
Some professors told ABC 4 they believed the entire video was fabricated.
“In a selective way it’s choosing pieces he used in his film to make people look more ignorant than they really are,” Chris Crowe, an English professor, told the station.
Brian Roberts, another English professor, criticized Ackeerman’s use of “black face.”
“I’m disappointed and surprised that someone came to campus wearing black face. What I think is it reflects a lack of historical knowledge,” Roberts said.
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Comments (139)
balldini
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:35pmMy bet is they wouldn’t have know about any history black or white. See Jay Leno’s show for proof.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 5:28pmYou are correct .. the public schools have seen to that!
Report Post »tersky
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:05pmI went to BYU, transferred in as a junior with a 3.57 GPA and they took me on academic probation. You really have to go looking hard for airheads there.
Report Post »Morehardcorethanyou
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:56pmReally Tersky? 3.5 isn’t exactly “smart”….
Report Post »VicksVaporub
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:26pmThe reason even the black kids don’t know jack about Black History is because not black person has ever one done one significant thing in the history of the human race. Just say it how it is.
Report Post »Twinspeedr
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:26pm@Balldini
Report Post »Let’s see… a 3.6GPA lands you on academic probation in a school with 30,000 undergrad students? I think you missed the point. An A- is not a bad GPA in most circles there, “Hoss” But I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that despite your superior skilz, your NOT about to drop the cure for cancer any time soon…
Twinspeedr
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:30pmSorry my last post should have been @MOREHARDCORETHANYOU *snicker*
Oh, and @VicksVaporhead: Try reading “American History in Black and White” by David Barton.
Report Post »Lonescrapper
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:41pmIt’s okay to wear blackface if you are making fun of white people.
Report Post »SekndAmendment
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:46pm@ morehardcore
Report Post »A 3.5 at Harvard and a 3.5 at your local community college are NOT the same thing. I’m a current student at BYU in mechanical engineering and have a similar GPA. My ACT scores put me in the top 1% of the nation but I’m only in the top 20% at BYU. Jut because it‘s a religious university doesn’t mean that the students are lower caliber than other schools. We compete with the best of the best and win often enough. I landed a job with a defense contractor over two candidates from MIT. I dare you to do better.
COFemale
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 10:11pmMorehardcorethanyou – Apparently, you never attended college. His 3.57 is a B average. Generally, 4.0 is an A. So he was .43 from a 4.0. What is your excuse?
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 11:18pm“One student told Dave Ackerman he celebrates Black History Month with “fried chicken and grape juice”
Come on… it’s a grape Nehi with a moon pie. I know, I grew up on them. And it’s fried chicken and watermelon! I know, I grew up on them, too. I have banana moon pies in my house right now. My room mate loves them! And so do I. I don’t eat them anymore however, because of the sugar.
Report Post »GeorgieBaby
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 12:45am@MOREHARDCORETHANYOU – a 3.57 is subjective to the university you transfer from. It is not just about the GPA. There a a number of factors that play into determining the worth of a GPA. One thing that people don’t realize is that many top Ivy League schools actually inflate their grades because it makes them look good on paper, and helps maintain their image of exclusivity. This means that a good portion of their student body receives an “A” grade. Harvard does this, and that is why I am pretty skeptical of people who ride on their Ivy League credentials.
I attended Boston University for grad school in business, which actually has a grade deflation policy. This means it is much harder to be awarded an “A” on an assignment or in a class, and it requires some significant extra effort and gravitas to earn this grade. They have an official 80-20 policy. Only 20 percent of the students were awarded A’s. It was an intensely competitive program, because everyone wants the “A.” I once had aclass with only twenty students. Only two “A’s” were awarded, and two “A-” grades…the rest in the “B” range. In another class, as hard as I tried, I could not crack anything higher than a B+ because it was so competitive. So, in the world of academia, a 3.57 from Boston University is looked upon very highly by reputation. It is equivalent to receiving an “A” from an Ivy League school.
You can search grade inflation/deflation at universities online. It is
Report Post »GeorgieBaby
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 12:58amI’ve also attended two LDS church schools, and they are pretty competitive. In the LDS culture, especially among the youth and young adults, it quite cool to be smart and talented. There is a high value placed on education, education, training, and talents. Mormons are counseled from the top leaders to get as much education as you possibly can, and develop a marketable skill. (Regardless of what Glenn Beck says about higher education.)
This is not just a nice thing to say. The tuition at LDS-owned, private schools is remarkably inexpensive so that people from many walks of life can afford to attend. The LDS church also has a perpetual education fund that helps people, especially in developing countries, to increase their education and job training skills. Learning, education, and self-reliance are not only temporal principles, but spiritual principles that are espoused as core values.
I don’t believe this video for a minute. LDS young adults are rather hip and are very aware of the world around them and U.S. history. They are required to take an American Heritage class in order to graduate.
Report Post »nelbert
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 7:46amVicksVaporRub – just what happened in your life to make you so sick and twisted?
As the initial poster said, these set up “man on the street” interviews always show people’s ignorance. This one happens to be about Black History, but it could be current politics, history, geography – name the topic. Part of the problem rests with the schools but a big portion rests with the individuals whose perception has been formed by the media. Notice how several people identified popular black actors and rappers as famous people from history. Not terribly surprising in a culture where E! is more watched than the evening news.
Report Post »Izzy2626
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 7:52amBut the movie *White Chicks* is ok right?….Hmmmmm I see
Report Post »Apple Bite
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 7:56amVicksVaporub
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:26pm
The reason even the black kids don’t know jack about Black History is because not black person has ever one done one significant thing in the history of the human race. Just say it how it is.
Nominee for the MOST IGNORANT POST ON THE BLAZE…EVER.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 8:24amAnd who is in charge of the public schools? Racist leftists. The only people we learned about in the 70′s was Rosa Parks and Fredrick Douglas. I learned more from David Barton’s book, History in Black and White than I was ever taught in school. That said, I have a friend from the inner city of Dallas who said it WAS taught at his mostly black school. I want to know about ALL my heros from history, not just the white ones. But I also don’t want it slanted towards all whiteys are racist slave owners.
Report Post »NeoFan
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 4:34pmDid this comic bring up the fact that the KKK was started and kept alive by democrats? Did he explain that all anti-black legislation in the south was from democrats? Did he explain how anti-poverty programs have enslaved generations to the welfare programs and have actually increased poverty? Did he inform people about Jefferson Davis and other black founders of our country. Did he explain to those Mormons that a Missouri extermination order against Mormons was largely the result of their anti slavery actions?
Report Post »obamaswallows
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 4:58pmoh Vick…don’t you like peanut butter?
Report Post »WeDontNeedNoSteenkinBadges10
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 10:16pm“Black History Month”
Do they REALLY want to know … stupid? crack? hoes? bastard babies? abortion? black-on-black violence? smack talk? gang violence? welfare?
Report Post »SerikFox
Posted on February 13, 2012 at 4:46pmI want to know why there is a black history month. Or any month celebrating a specific racial group at all, white, black, Asian – anyone. The more you separate people by the color of their skin, the more you provide aid to racism. I don‘t care what color someone’s skin is. I don’t even understand why anyone would ever care.
Report Post »symphonic
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:25pmPlus guys nowadays, some of them, DO wear make up, so this comedian is just out of touch with his conclusions that the interviewees were stupid. No, he was. He was ignorant of political correctness AND of guys wearing makeup. Heck, he could have been an obvious transvestite and no one would have made that an issue, its just too awkward.
What is really DUMB about this guy, is he is a comedian who does not know the real world of awkward situations. They were all probably thinking he was a weirdo, but being nice, they never bring it up that he looks like a tool with makeup LOL.
Report Post »symphonic
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:22pmThe reason they never questioned his “black authenticity” is because of the POLITICALLY CORRECT world we live in. Can you imagine the fall out if the interviewer really WAS black, and he was questioned for it. LOSE LOSE.
Report Post »Morehardcorethanyou
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:58pmAn SEIU post commander would have hired some friends to beat him down…
Report Post »Celeste.Christi
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:20pmDon’t PC on me!
Report Post »Don’t care about Black History, and not going to care about Black History.
Dale
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:43pmThat is your loss. Check out early American history. There were many black patriots. It is a shame that this history lesson is lost, and we have Van Jones, Oprah (sp), Samuel L. Jackson, Shelia Jackson Lee, Charlie Rangel…as the black model.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 5:04pm@DALE
And… that matters… HOW?
People are people; We are Americans; And, our Species is Predator, so we fight!
Report Post »Dale
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 5:11pmLuke;
You are either the most remarkable person I’ve exchanged view with, or; more likely from your last sentence, just a wind bag.
Report Post »neocon1
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 1:22pmdale
your picture fits you well…
BFD 2-3 black patriots.
40 MILLION welfare rats, prisoners, thugs, criminals, murderers, looters, takers,and thieves.
Report Post »NEXT?
Macman1138
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:12pmBlack History Month? One would have thought a couple of seconds would have been enough.
Report Post »Socialism_Is_The_New_Black
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:31pmOMG! Oh no you didn’t! Lol,too funny! LMAO!
Report Post »neocon1
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 12:56pmLOL ROTFLMAO
vicks vapo
Report Post »BINGO……….unless rioting, mayhem, murder, rape, robbery, sloth, racism are attributes.
Maximus_Delta
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:12pmwhy do they have just white pages and yellow pages in the phone??? That is RACIST!!!!! I demand BLACK pages!!!!!
Report Post »Macman1138
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:32pmAsk, and the Great HNIC Obama will grant your wish.
Report Post »He hears and obeys the 13%.
One Man Progressive Wrecking Crew
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:49pmThe black pages are the front pages of the Urban American Daily Newspapers!!
That’s why they had to stop printing em and go online, they were using too much black ink to print em with all these perps on the front pages each day!! Take it from a former printer at the Chicago Trib!! ;)
Report Post »neocon1
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 1:17pmLong live the great HNIC big bro and da mammer jammers.
Report Post »Macman1138
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:11pmThat’s the way they act though.
Report Post »Maximus_Delta
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:11pmI demand a white history month!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »Maximus_Delta
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:10pmI got gas….
Report Post »GMAN455
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:08pmWheres the Justice Brothers Al and Jesse when you need them? lol
Report Post »crackerone
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:19pmPress conference tomorrow at noon. They will also be reminding viewers, that they never caught the 6 white men that raped and abused Tawana Brawley.
Report Post »TelesRule
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:04pmI wonder how that would go over at a school for the deaf dumb and blind.
Report Post »SenorStrange
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:59pmNow do one asking black people about white people
Report Post »LANE131
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:06pmAmen to that, and post it all over the WEB too.
Report Post »LobsterBoy
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:58pmWhen it comes to the part regarding the accusations of selective editing, I’d really doubt it was even necessary.
If you’ve ever seen the campus interviews asking about things like U.S. History or geography, you’d know that this level of ignorance is widespread regardless of topic.
It doesn‘t surprise me that people who don’t even know their own history, don’t know the history of another group or culture.
Report Post »GeorgieBaby
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 12:27amActually, all LDS colleges and universities require American Heritage and history as part of the core requirements. I’ve attended two of these schools, and they were very thorough in the courses.
Report Post »TheObamanation
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:58pmObviously a liberal injecting race into the conversation to make mormons look bad. I got news for ya … they don’t know anything about the founding fathers … or the constitution either.
Report Post »Common.Cents
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:20pmI must be an outlier then…. I attend BYU and I could have easily answered all those questions, and I am studying Russian, not American History.
Report Post »tersky
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:03pmYeah, that “comedian” is a jerk. I went to BYU (decades ago), transferred in as a junior with a 3.57 GPA and they took me on academic probation. It’s even harder to get in now. It’s a great school and there are few airheads. He had to have gone looking for those few airheads he found. And please note that an person without guile is not always, probably not even usually, also an airhead. Most of these kids come from places where there are few minorities, so they have only been exposed to minorities through the entertainment industries.
Compared to the rest of the US, people in Utah are generally very guileless, especially at BYU. This guy asks them a question, they’re going to answer honestly. He trapped them with guile.
The thing that bothered me the most about this: To say a black guy is acting like a white guy if he isn’t acting GHETTO is RACIST. A white guy who acts GHETTO isn’t acting black; he’s acting like an ignorant thug. A black guy who acts ghetto is acting like an ignorant thug. A black guy who thinks he has to act ghetto to be true to his race is the proverbial crab in the bucket. The only girls who want to go out with guys who act like in ignorant thugs are the ignorant b!tch35 and hoes the thugs sing about in their hip hop crap. What these girls are saying is they’d go out with a classy guy, no matter what his color.
So these students were speaking out of ignorance. This “comedian” was probably MORE racist than they in his subtext. Like I
Report Post »BenFrank1791
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:54pmoh wow I feel so much Sham … I mean Shame at being white …. I think I will go watch MSNBC for a day to repent . Maybe we all should become more educated like liberal whites. Cuz they got the smarts, and we all are just a bunch of dumb ignorant bible thumpin confederates. LOL
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:07pmWhich one looks dumber? The “interviewer” who thought it was good judgement to wear “black face,” or, the students who know nothing of “black history.”
Personally, I am a lifelong student of AMERICAN history and of world history. I do not divide historic figures by what race they were.
As for the “black face” or “blackface” (I think it is actually one word)
it is not makeup that looks like a black person.
“blackface” is burnt cork that is applied as an extreme charicature of a black person.
What this clown did, was more like Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live when he did the white man skits. I think he did it in some movie(s) as well.
This whole “stunt” of this “story” is just DUMB.
Report Post »Blazesurfer
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:54pm“Ah there’s Samuel L. Jackson….Oh wait hes not historical”…He’s a Racist!!
Report Post »Macman1138
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:37pmYes and next month please attend his signing and reading from his new book, “What Color Is Your Wind Chime?” at Detroit’s largest Barnes & Nobles.
Report Post »Bring the children, it’ll be fun, it’s Black History Mumf.
KickinBack
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:54pmShock value is how an “entertainer” uses his/her lack of creativity and talent in order to attempt to become famous.
Report Post »tersky
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 7:09pmYes!
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:51pmJust in time to give the Left more ammo against Mitt. Not that I‘m a supporter just saying they’ll use this and so much more to tear him to shreds.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:50pmIf we are all Americans… why should there be a Black History Month?
BLACK HISTORY: African Tribes fought each other… sold their Captives to the Muslims… who sold them at Portuguese Ports… who sold them to Ship Captains… where some where brought to America and sold.
Report Post »neocon1
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 1:00pmAND
were bought and sole by other BLACKS…….shhhhh dont let that out.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on February 12, 2012 at 3:26pm@NEOCON1
Slavery was started in America… in Virgina… in 1653… by a Black Man, Anthony Johnson, who sued to have his Indentured Servant, a Black Man, John Casor, made a LifeTime Servant!
In other words, the Blacks did it to themselves… and everyone else just Enabled them!
Report Post »nosycophant
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:41pmSo dumb naturally being a country of racist we gave them the shortest month, February! Haha.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:39pmAnother useless exercise in division, conveniently in an election year. Stereotypes are a fact of life, and we all fit one or another. Trying to villify everyone who doesn’t know something about another race, usually white people are showcased (what does that tell you?) is nothing more than a political exercise, and those who participate in trying to push the label are tasteless. How stupid do you have to be to do the dirty work of divisive politics FOR the politicians? Yes, there are racists in every group in America. Are they the majority? Absolutely not.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:48pmGo to the Southern Universitys and have the same questions asked about Whites and their historcial achievements in the US and what are their names. The list will no doubt include Blacks.
Report Post »azmomof6
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:54pmThis guy makes himself look like a racist bafoon!
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:39pmBYU? Aint that Mormon? No Black folks allowed.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:09pmThere ARE black Mormons.
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 4:11pmNot true, Like the revelation which ended plural marriage in 1890 before Utah became a state, the idea that black skin was the mark of Cain so as to deny priesthood, but not membership, in the LDS church, was revealed to be no longer applicable in 1978.
Report Post »Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 5:54pmSo,They volunteer to be slaves in the afterlife? Or they just change the rules so Mormonism would not be labeled a cult anymore?
Report Post »marvel
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 11:27pm@Smokey_Bojangles
Mormons were always anti-slavery, which was one of the reasons folks didn’t like them very much. When Joseph Smith ran for president, he proposed that the U.S. buy the freedom of all slaves. Mormons have also always admitted blacks and all other people into the Church, which was never segregated, unlike many of the protestant Churches of the time.
The Church did ban blacks of African decent from holding the lay priesthood for years, but there has never been an official reason given for the ban, only speculation. Other people of color were not banned from holding the priesthood during that time, such as Native Americans and Australian Aborigines. Currently all worthy males are allowed to hold the priesthood in the Church.
Marvel
Report Post »jonhova
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:38pmYour typical white guilt liberal not realizing who the real racist in the room is.
Report Post »Oraclevoiceofreason
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:36pmyikes this is not good and not funny. I am a California native that now lives in this small, conservative college town and it is an embarrassment. Stupid in fact – just more fodder for the rest of the world to mock Mormons and BYU.
Report Post »Tyler520
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 9:08pm…or perhaps it proves an uncomfortable reality – that contemporary black culture has provided little to society outside of the realm of entertainment
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 3:27pmPretty darned tasteless, definitely not funny.
Report Post »chips1
Posted on February 11, 2012 at 5:17pm“How I love ya, how I love ya, My dear old mammy.” -Al Jolson-
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