Yearbook photos—and blackface—are forever, friends. Case in point: the Baton Rouge Police Department’s yearbook from about 25 years ago, in which a photo of two cops (Lt. Don Stone and now-retired police Captain Frankie Caruso) wearing blackface has recently resurfaced. As reported by The Root, a Louisiana police chief has issued an apology, but details about the original situation make the story even more gross.
Here’s what happened: White police officers put on blackface before selling drugs (in this case, crack) to black people in a majority-black neighborhood. Instead of having black officers work on this drug operation, Stone and Caruso were selected to put on blackface. Why? This was apparently because the department was worried black cops would be recognized in the local community, and thus no longer undercover.
When speaking to the Advocate newspaper in 1993 (the year all of this went down), Caruso said, “Not only do they not know we’re cops—they don’t even know we’re white!” The exclamation point really communicates his glee.
While the operation was supposedly intended to stop drug dealers, they ended up catching only drug users. This distinction matters because it reeks of another instance of, basically, criminalizing addiction. In this case, the undercover police sold crack (which was actually chopped up chalk), which led to 10 actual “busts.” No one was arrested, and instead people received summonses for court appearances.
“Blackface photographs are inappropriate and offensive. They were inappropriate then and they are inappropriate now,” current BRPD Chief Murphy Paul said in a statement. “The Baton Rouge Police Department would like to apologize to our citizens and to anyone who may have been offended by the photographs.”
Paul clarifies that the officers in question were working in an “undercover capacity during a department approved operation.”
Between Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who refuses to resign, and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, blackface photos seem to be the talk of the town. But despite all of this talk, hardly anyone is apologizing—and no one is being held accountable in a real way.
If you’re feeling horrified about all of these blackface stories leaking out, just remember: According to a recent HuffPost/YouthGov poll, the majority of Americans agree that blackface is wrong. Who doesn’t? Trump voters.
For the good of Virginia, Northam needs to resign. Sign now if you agree.