English Morris Dancers’ Black Face Paint Cancelled After Racism Allegations

English Morris Dancers have cancelled their traditional face paint this year, opting for a non-black colour over allegations of racism.

The use of black face paint in Morris Dancing has become an increasingly controversial topic in England in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

This year, Morris Dancer troupes across the country ditched their traditional black face paint for Boxing Day dances and instead used other colours such as blue or green in an effort to avoid being branded racist, The Telegraph reports.

Morris Dancing is a traditional folk dance in England, dating back to at least 1448. Morris performers, normally dressed in traditional white attire and sometimes with bells on their shins, clap together implements such as swords, sticks, and handkerchiefs in a dance. In some instances, performers wear face paint during the dance.

The tradition of using black face paint in Morris Dancing is believed to date back to the 1500s in England and Morris Dancers claim that the practice is linked to when people would use soot to disguise their faces while begging.

In the Early Modern Period (1500-1800) beggars in England were seen as idle and blamed for crimes by both the government and citizens, alike. This was largely due to the fact that such individuals would often roam the country and move between villages — an unusual practice at the time.

In 1547, the Vagrancy Act was passed, which included the punishment that any able-bodied person caught by the authorities who did not work, and would be branded with a “V” and sold into slavery for two years. This meant that many beggars would attempt to hide their identity in order to escape persecution or judgement.

This use of black face paint has been labelled racist by some left-wing commentators who dispute this history and claim that its origins come from American ‘Minstrel Show’ influences during the Victorian era.

While small numbers of black people have been present in England since Roman times, it would have been unusual for the majority of English people — especially outside of major cities — to have seen a black person, until the black community’s population became more prominent in the 1700s.

This makes it unlikely that the original use of soot in Morris Dances was designed to ridicule black people.

However, in response to the backlash against the supposed racism of the black face paint, the Joint Morris Organisations (JMO) — a cross-county Morris association —  condemned the use of black face paint during the height of BLM protests in 2020.

“[The JMO] will take action to eliminate this practice from their membership. Teams that continue to use full-face black or other skin tone make up will find they are no longer part of the mainstream morris community, be covered by JMO public liability insurance, or invited to take part in events organised or sponsored by the JMO,” the group said in a statement last July.

The JMO also stated it was time for the tradition to evolve and become more “inclusive”.