A comedic logo meant to unite Black and Jewish cultures was not entirely humourous for U of T’s Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office.
Through a series of satirical skits, The Black-Jew Monologues debuted at Hart House Theatre last Wednesday, igniting discussions of cultural expression and identity.
However, the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office consulted the U of T community regarding the poster for the event, fearing backlash for the logo’s racial provocativeness.
The Black-Jew Monologues uses strong language, stereotypes and racism to highlight the absurdity and similarity of injustices that have plagued these two minority groups. As such, the poster for the skit features a Jewish man with an afro, and a black man wearing a yarmulke.
“It was felt that the images could be taken out of context, especially for individuals who would not be attending the event,” explained Sandra Carnegie-Douglas, anti-racism & cultural diversity officer.
“The committee decided that the image needed to be contextualized with additional explanation and, therefore, a poster with a different image was used to promote the event,” she said.
Although the play’s co-creators Ron Jones and Larry Jay Tish have been using the image for the last six years in their travels across North America, they acknowledge the concerns as legitimate.
“It was part of their job to look at these things, to make sure cultural sensitivities are being taken into account — they were just doing their job,” said Jones, in response to the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office’s concern.
“We’re intentionally being provocative, but we like the logo because the show is a comedy first and foremost,” he continued.
Tish admitted that the controversy put a little edge to the performance, but that it didn’t subtract from the overall message. He also emphasized that people should see the play before passing judgment.
