Blackened Faces
The wearing of blackface paint was once a traditional part of the parade. Growing dissent from civil-rights groups and the offense of the black community led to most clubs phasing out blackface in the early 1960s. A 1964 city policy officially ruled out blackface but some still appears in the parade.
With growing controversy, blackface is still a part of the related Mummer's or Darkie Day in Cornwall, England, and Jonkonnu parades in the Caribbean.
Read more about this topic: Mummers Parade
Famous quotes containing the words blackened and/or faces:
“But famished field and blackened tree
Bear flowers in Eden never known.
Blossoms of grief and charity
Bloom in these darkened fields alone.”
—Edwin Muir (1887–1959)
“What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor?”
—Bible: Hebrew Isaiah, 3:15.