Biglaw

Biglaw Partner Gets A Cookie For Calling Out Blackface In 1980

Dear White People: Calling out obvious racism is the least we can do.

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Bradley Kutrow

The month of blackface continues! I know the barrage of racism from dealing with the near constant blackface scandals is getting exhausting for black people in this country — especially during Black History Month — and for that, I am deeply sorry. But, yes, we have another blackface scandal (plus lynching!) for you. At least in this instance white people called it out as vile racism at the time. So… progress?

Anyway, the image in question is from the 1979 University of North Carolina yearbook. On a fraternity page there is an image of a man in blackface standing next to two people in KKK hoods and they’re simulating a lynching scene. Yes, it is as bad as you think it is. Don’t believe me? Take a look.

Just nauseatingly racist.

And this isn’t some snapshot from a bygone, more racist era when such occurrences were somehow thought to be acceptable. Nope, it was racist BS even then. And you know how we know (besides the obvious)? We have a contemporaneous editorial, from a 1980 edition of the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, that has also gone viral.

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The editorial calls out the racism, saying, “those who argue that racism and discrimination on this campus are ebbing have only to look at page 400 of the 1979 Yacktey Yack [the yearbook] for evidence to the contrary.” It goes on to describe the images as “crystallized racism that permeates the University”:

They were, we presume, clowning around for a photographer. Still, their callousness and insensitivity toward racism, the most deep-rooted problem confronting our society, is appalling … It may be argued, and rightly, that these pictures are indicative of the actions and attitudes of only a few individuals. Nevertheless, individuals make up organizations and organizations make up the UNC community. These photographs crystallized the racism that permeates this University in its most blatant and disturbing form.”

The author of this now-all-too-relevant editorial, Bradley Kutrow, went on to become a Biglaw partner at McGuireWoods where he practices in the financial services litigation department. In an interview with Law.com discussing how well this particular editorial has aged, Kutrow says he felt a responsibility to call out the unacceptable behavior:

“It was our role at the newspaper to call out problems on the campus,” he said, adding that “I don’t recall anyone leaping to the defense” of the fraternity after the editorial appeared. “It really was wrong and antithetical to our values at the university. Those photos needed to be called out.”

Anyway, it’s a good reminder to white people that the bare minimum we can do is call out racism when we see it. It’s the right thing to do, and, if Kutrow’s experience is any guideline, history will treat you kindly.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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