Definition of blackface
1
: dark makeup worn to mimic the appearance of a Black person and especially to mock or ridicule Black people
Note: The wearing of blackface by white performers was, from the early 19th through the mid-20th centuries, a prominent feature of minstrel shows (see minstrel sense 3a) and similar forms of entertainment featuring exaggerated and inaccurate caricatures of Black people. The use of blackface is considered deeply offensive.
2
: a performer wearing blackface : minstrel sense 3a
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for blackface
The first known use of blackface was in 1847
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