Yearbooks: a snapshot into the past. I flipped through Santa Clara University\u2019s yearbooks and was able to see that students\u2019 weekend antics haven\u2019t changed (beach trips to Santa Cruz or laying out on Bellomy) and discovered that Graham used to have a pool (what happened to that?). But when I squinted a little closer at the influx of playful pictures, I was startled. Right next to a picture of a grinning couple was an image of a student in blackface, smiling wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blackface: the act of a non-black person painting their skin to appear darker. More important than the act itself is its racist history, dating back to minstrel shows in the late 19th century. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Want a more in-depth explanation? Consult this <\/em>book<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>encyclopedia article<\/em><\/a>, and <\/em>video<\/em><\/a> to learn more about blackface from reliable, scholarly sources.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The term “blackface,” coupled with recognizable names (Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being the most recent), has frequented newspaper headlines for about a year now. Perhaps the most well-known instance was when pictures of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam wearing blackface next to a man wearing KKK robes surfaced earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A majority of these pictures come to the surface because of university yearbooks. That\u2019s where the archival community comes into play: archives are tasked with preserving an institution’s history, and university yearbooks are often preserved in the archives. Dozens of other universities across the nation took a deep dive into their own yearbooks and discovered blackface in their own records. Earlier this year, the USA Today did a deep dive into 900 yearbooks<\/a> and found horrifyingly racist images scattered amongst pictures of dorms and parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a student research assistant in Archives & Special Collections, I was tasked with going through the SCU yearbooks we keep in the department with a close eye for cases of blackface or other images depicting cultural appropriation. I scoured every page of our entire yearbook collection (twice!) and found several instances of what I had been tasked to look for. I recorded a comprehensive list of my findings. This list is available upon request to registered researchers visiting Archives & Special Collections to conduct research on blackface at SCU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although at first I was shocked to find blackface in our yearbooks, I then realized that SCU is not an exception from a wave of acts of cultural appropriation that was happening nationwide. However, like other members of the archival community and in keeping with the ethics of the archival profession set forth by the Society of American Archivists<\/a>, Archives & Special Collections will not be removing any of the images from our digital or physical archives. We don\u2019t support any form of racism, nor do we condone the inappropriate images found in our yearbooks. But, taking the images down would perpetuate a false and inaccurate representation of our history, and it would be unjust for the communities hurt by these images to \u201cerase\u201d evidence of past racism. Instead, it is important to acknowledge that blackface and start a discussion about its harmful effects. From the experience, our community can grow and improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yearbooks provide insight into a year at a particular university, but they also reflect social and political sentiments of the time. A role of the archives is to present that material as candidly and accurately as possible. To remove any material would be unethical<\/a>. We are unable to change the past, but through the power of discussion, we have the opportunity to make the future a more aware and accepting place. If you\u2019re interested, take a look for yourself. All yearbooks are available online<\/a> as a part of our Digital Collections, or send us an email<\/a> to make an appointment to view the physical yearbooks in person in our Reading Room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Header image: <\/em>The Redwood covers from Scholar Commons<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bibliography<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Doane University apologizes for blackface photos used in display.” May 03, 2019. Web. Oct 10, 2019 <https:\/\/www.1011now.com\/content\/news\/Doane-University-apologizes-for-blackface-photos-used-in-display-509438941.html<\/a>>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Haag, Matthew. “USA Today Searched Old Yearbooks for Blackface Photos. it found One Published by its Editor.” New York Times, <\/em>Feb. 21, 2019, Web. October 10, 2019 <https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/02\/21\/us\/nicole-carroll-usa-today-blackface.html<\/a>>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harris, Adam. “Yearbooks Aren\u2019t the Only Place to Find Blackface on Campus.” The Atlantic.<\/em> Feb 9, 2019. Web. Oct 10, 2019 <https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/education\/archive\/2019\/02\/ralph-northam-college-campus-blackface\/582373\/<\/a>>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Murphy, Brett. “Blackface, KKK Hoods and Mock Lynchings: Review of 900 Yearbooks Finds Blatant Racism.” USA Today, <\/em>Feb. 21, 2019, Web. Oct 10, 2019 <https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/in-depth\/news\/investigations\/2019\/02\/20\/blackface-racist-photos-yearbooks-colleges-kkk-lynching-mockery-fraternities-black-70-s-80-s\/2858921002\/<\/a>>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roper, Eric. “Chaska High School Yearbook Delayed to Remove Blackface Photo.” Star Tribune, <\/em>May 22, 2019, Web. Oct 10, 2019 <http:\/\/www.startribune.com\/chaska-high-school-yearbook-delayed-to-remove-blackface-photo\/510306912\/<\/a>>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truong, Debbie. “A Va. University Temporarily Removes Yearbooks with Blackface from Digital Archives.” Washington Post, <\/em>April 3, 2019, Web. Oct 10, 2019 <https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/education\/a-va-university-temporarily-removes-yearbooks-with-blackface-from-digital-archives\/2019\/04\/03\/f6812234-5627-11e9-814f-e2f46684196e_story.html<\/a>>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yearbooks: a snapshot into the past. I flipped through Santa Clara University\u2019s yearbooks and was able to see that students\u2019 weekend antics haven\u2019t changed (beach trips to Santa Cruz or laying out on Bellomy) and discovered that Graham used to have a pool (what happened to that?). But when I squinted a little closer at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2575,"featured_media":644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[85,88,87,86],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archival_gems","tag-blackface","tag-cultural-appropriation","tag-the-redwood","tag-yearbooks","with-image","with-title"],"gutentor_comment":0,"qubely_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",920,920,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",750,750,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",320,320,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design-300x300.png",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design-768x768.png",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",920,920,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",920,920,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",920,920,false],"qubely_landscape":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",750,750,false],"qubely_portrait":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",320,320,false],"qubely_thumbnail":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",100,100,false],"single":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",920,920,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/files\/2019\/10\/Untitled-design.png",920,920,false]},"qubely_author":{"display_name":"Mia Hope","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/arthursattic\/author\/mhope\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"Archival Gems<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Yearbooks: a snapshot into the past. I flipped through Santa Clara University\u2019s yearbooks and was able to see that students\u2019 weekend antics haven\u2019t changed (beach trips to Santa Cruz or laying out on Bellomy) and discovered that Graham used to have a pool (what happened to that?). 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