Letters to the Editor: "Dark Knight" Obama fliers contradict Catholic values of social justice

To the Editor:

We the undersigned members of the English Department wish to explain why the recent flyers posted by the College Republicans, which depicted President Barack Obama in whiteface as the Joker, do not belong anywhere on a campus whose Mission Statement includes the phrase "moral discernment reflecting Christian values."

We have heard arguments to the effect that, in disseminating the flyers, the College Republicans are exercising their right to free speech and that the intent is not racist. We fervently believe in free speech, but we also recognize our collective cultural responsibility to keep the debate civil and to employ language and images using appropriate sensitivity and decorum.

While the poster's designer states that no offense was intended, the image of President Obama in whiteface speaks to blatant racist stereotypes that existed long before "The Dark Knight" became a cultural phenomenon. There is a long and sordid history of African Americans being compelled to don blackface and whiteface in minstrel performances. These bigoted images found their way into twentieth-century cinema, where, for instance, to convey abject terror, directors would paint the faces of African American actors white. In fact, a significant moment in the social history of Philadelphia occurred decades ago when a group of politicians, led by Cecil Moore, legislated the ban against the use of blackface in Mummers parades.

Thus, despite the claims of its designer, when we see this particular poster, we see a black man covered in whiteface, his features distorted. We find this image as offensive as we would a flyer portraying a Jewish politician in the garb of an Hasidic Jew with exaggerated features or a Catholic politician wearing a miter and a hideous grin.

For many years, we have listened as our black students have recounted tales of racial harassment and even violence. Last fall, we dealt with the fallout from the racist graffiti that was scrawled in McShain. One student said how he felt as if he had been "stabbed in the chest." Another admitted that she does not feel the campus is safe for black students. We do not want these students to be subjected to the subliminal message in such flyers. Yes, students have the right to political free speech. In a university that professes, teaches, and practices social tolerance and the embracement of others, however, they do not have the right to post images that are racially demeaning.

As faculty, we are troubled by the image in this poster. In part, we hope that members of the College Republicans will find better and more inclusive ways to represent their group and their values. We remind them that the core values of Saint Joseph's University call upon us to address and redress social injustice.

Jo Alyson Parker, Chair and Professor of English

Thomas Brennan, S.J., Assistant Professor of English

Richard Fusco, Professor of English

Ann Green, Associate Professor of English