Two views on the lasting personal and political effects of Trudeau's blackface scandal
After news broke that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore blackface and brownface in the past, Green Party candidate Marty Lancaster decided to out himself and apologize for his own transgression. Like Lancaster, Trudeau also apologized. But it was a mea culpa that Halifax writer, professor and activist El Jones refused to accept.
A politician saw himself in the PM, while a community activist declared, 'Apology not accepted'
When news broke during the federal election campaign that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore blackface and brownface in the past, Marty Lancaster's first thought was, "I've done that."
Out in the Open host Piya Chattopadhyay speaks with the Green Party candidate from Ontario about his decision to out himself and apologize for dressing up as Mr. T for Halloween a decade ago.
Then, Halifax poet, professor and black community activist El Jones explains why she decided to declare, "Apology not accepted," after Trudeau's mea culpa... and what she thinks is being lost when the conversation in the aftermath is acutely focused on the Prime Minister.
This story appears in the Out in the Open episode "See Ya, 2019".