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.

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.

  • m0darn@lemmy.ca
    1·
    1 month ago

    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.