Lewes District Council: Leader's Statement Opposing 'Blackface'

District Council's leader on Thursday (11 June) issued a statement amplifying the deputy leader's written commitment made the previous day, to refuse to licence any fire site, owned by the authority, to a Bonfire society permitting 'blackface' make-up among its members.

It followed increasing controversy over the practice, carried out by a small number of members of one Lewes society (Lewes Borough Bonfire Society), who have processed on November 5th.

The make-up has been combined with costumes that members say are intended to represent people of Zulu origin.

While some members have termed it a Bonfire tradition dating back many years with the intention of illustrating an opinion on Zulu history, a growing number of people in Lewes and from elsewhere have been increasingly vocal about the racial offence that blackface make-up, in a public procession and other public events, has caused.

Councillor Zoe Nicholson said:

"My great sadness about the death of George Floyd was only matched by my shock.

"We hear all too frequently about the deaths of black people in America at the hands of the police, but to see someone murdered by one officer as his colleagues stood idly by, left me in stunned and shameful silence.

"In my role as leader of Lewes District Council I’ve done a lot of thinking over the last two weeks about what more we need to do as a local authority to change, to root out prejudice and institutional discrimination wherever we find it.

"We’ve taken a lot of positive steps in recent years, both the current administration and the previous ones, and there is always much more we can do.

"My thoughts also turned to bonfire in Lewes Town and the offence caused by a minority in the procession with ‘blacked-up faces’.

"I know the vast majority of bonfire society members find this practice as objectionable as I do, so I am sure we can draw a line under this together.

"Societies have made progress to stop it from it happening, but this, like all forms of cultural misappropriation, must stop once and for all, it’s time to move on.

"As a council we will do more. We licence the fire sites that are hired from us by most of the bonfire societies and we have zero tolerance to “black face” in any event on our sites.

"We will strengthen our licence agreements to prevent this practice. We’ll do this in close liaison with our statutory partners at Sussex Police, our colleagues at Diversity Lewes and consult with the bonfire societies themselves.

"We’re lucky to live in Lewes district but together we can change and make it better for everyone."

A silent vigil of solidarity with black and ethnic minority people who've died after coming into contact with the justice system was held in the town last Monday (June 8).

Hundreds of people lined the town's principal shopping street from Cliffe Bridge to the War Memorial at the top of School Hill.

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