Turkish Reporter Uses Blackface to "Report" on President Obama

An anchor employed by Turkey's Flash TV, more or less our equivalent of FOX News, attempts to show "solidarity" with President Barack Obama by donning blackface and welcoming him to the country.

There seems to be disagreement over whether blackface has the same negative cultural associations in Turkey as it does in the United States. Nonetheless the underlying implication is obvious and it is a curious vehicle to welcome the President of the United States ... especially given  the historical and ongoing racist treatment of many Turks in Western European nations such as France, Germany and Italy.

The video and a rough translation AFTER THE JUMP.

There are several rough translations on YouTube. YouTube user "Exbladex99":

"He even says 'Respected Mr. Obama' in his monologue. The guy was saying how previous Democratic and Republican administrations blackened the Turkish face by supporting anti-Turkish lobbyists and not helping them against PKK terrorists. He was saying how he knows Obama will change all that and that Turkey and the US will have mutual respect."

That may be what the anchor said but certainly is not supported by the truth and the billions of dollars funneled from the Pentagon to Anakara, from the Reagan Administration to the present. Another YouTube user "Reroha":

"He is making a welcoming speech to President Obama and talking about Turkey's desires for this visit and for American-Turkey relations in general. He is hoping that the good will and hope that is accompanying this visit is not a temporary thing and that this promise of a better closer relationship will truely come to fruition."

TMZ claims they spoke with translator at the Turkish Bureau of Tourism "who told us the video is actually pretty funny, if you speak Turkish. Apparently there is even a Clinton/Lewinsky joke. Those funny Turks!" 

On Pope Benedict's recent trip to Turkey, an anchor at Flash TV "encouraged" His Holiness to convert to Isalm. Just to put the network and its on-air talent in context ...

Comments

[FQ]

This is bull. We all know what blackface means. And the Turks have a lot of nerve, most are the same complexion as Obama. If not darker!

[Ravenback]

I'm not surprised. This is the first time that the world has to deal with a person of African descent who's the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth. The world holds Black people in such a negative light. But I'm sure none of this phases President Obama. He is strong in his own right. He has to be. He wouldn't have made it this far if he wasn't. Well, Turkey has its own problems. They need to ask themselves why they haven't been made a member of the European Union yet? Is it because they're white, or maybe because they're Muslim? Maybe they're not looked upon in such a positive light by the other pale-skinned Europeans.

[Luther]

This is a shock to me, I've been to Turkey a couple of times and found the people to be warm and welcoming, although I did find out that they have had major issues with Africans who have been immigrating in recent in recent years. The world just does not know how to deal with a black man being the most powerful man on earth and fall back on old, vile stereotypes that they think are a compliment.

And why do these chumps always use black paint, when its obvious that Obama is no where near charcoal black and they foget that the Germans don't view them as 'white' and more black than anything else.

[ReggieH]

First I think the Obama presidency is going to be a 'teachable moment' for the world. Prejudices based on skin color seem to be somewhat universal.

Secondly, even if this was 'playful' and/or 'respectful' they should have known better. You can imagine what would happen if a US news person donned a turban 'respectfully' if a Turkish head of state came to here!

[Rowan]

Hmm, no surprises there...why should people who have experienced racism or prejudice not be the same onto others!

As a person whose lived and travelled in Africa and seeing how the Arabs treat the dark skinned blacks...

[Barton]

Sigh, it's going to be a long four ... eh eight years. Thankfully our President is a strong Leo man.

[Jarid]

long time ago i accidentally ended up in Turkey and had to sleep on roofs with donkeys and in ditches with little money left and walked and bussed halfway across the country into the deep interior where nobody goes. (long story but basically i fell for a girl who convinced me to meet her in Greece then she dumped my azz so i hopped a weekly freighter to Kusadasi then realized what I had done... :) So i just changed into local drab street clothes & acted like I was a mute -- anywayz, half the Turks look like Geraldo Rivera, the other half look like the great color mix of the rest of us. In other words, they black -- just like the Palestinians who Rod posted about a couple years ago who made derogatory racial refs to Condi Rice., when they look almost like her. (ps not a fan of CondiChevron Rice, but just sayin..

[richard]

***
the world holds black people in a negative light
***
not subscribing to that, i'm also not sure if i've registered that in the past apart from recognizing the ugly historical context in the states -- at times -- and the underlying disregard for multiple cultures. it's nothing new in relation to oversights and disregard for queers...as such, i see some fags and dykes licking the boots of this obnoxious disregard for life just the same. as long as the aussiebum ads keep flowing -- it's all good.

i'm wondering if tutu or mandela have visited turkey before -- and if the minstral treatment was incorporated. as much as the banter about islam was tossed around, the premise of face painting seems to represent an underlying ignorance on the flip-side -- their own version of borat channeling high school musical and high maintenance with high technology meeting the contemporary profundity of the human dilemma. charmed, i'm sure.

never saw the face paint in the turkish baths in the east village, yet, i wonder how they go about relaxing in uganda, zimbabwe, congo, lesotho, sudan, et al.

Richard, this makes no sense at all. No race-baiting or racial stream of consciousness on a blog for/about black gay men. Thanks. -RM

[Ravenback]

@ Richard

What?

[mash]

Sad, there is a coon festival in Cape Town, South Africa- and no one sees fault with it- "coloured" race performs in it as minstrels to a majorly white audience!

[Brien]

Mash, trust, we've extended our long arms to South Africa over the years and have been instrumental in ending apartheid. If there's a coon festival going on and we choose to highlight how our President is being treated in Turkey, it's our perrogative(sp). why do people always want to tell us what battles to fight??? we're dealing with Turkey in this thread. Truth be told, all over the world, black people are hated and reviled and sometimes those of us in the U.S. can't fight all their battles for them. But, we can say, 'don't do this to our President, we will not tolerate it!'

[Rod Mc]

@ Mash:
Whatever is happening in South Africa is irrelevant to this story.

But if it's important to you, why not send me an email? That way I can look at it and possibly share it on the blog. Unless you don't want to share the story and would rather complain that "no one is talking about it", which many people prefer to do. -RM

[J.W]

There is a very old Black Turkish community in the country. Many were brought as slaves during the Ottoman Empire. Most recent, they a developed a festival to celebrate their heritage. Of course, there is the usual stigma attached to being descended from slaves.
JW