It seems that with every new Halloween there is a new
opportunity for some appalling racist act or another. Locally,
we had such an event at Hamline University, and nationally,
where else: The Bush Administration.  The Hamline event … and my
source here is Minnesota Public Radio, something I heard in the
car … involved a Halloween party in which several college boys
dressed up in black face as primitive savages. They and the
girls who helped them are in significant trouble. I heard about
this while driving Julia (seventh grade) to school. She
objected: She did not understand the nuanced language. She had
never heard the term “black face” and the radio announcer did
not use the terminology I use above. So if you did not know
about Jim Crow and black face entertainment and such, and you
were only twelve, you might not get it. So she objected that
Halloween is a time you are supposed to wear a costume, so why
would they get into trouble.  I assure you that at present Julia
is up on her 19th and 20th century hist