Blacking up is Black
by Sam Langford
Clive Baldwin is the
'celebrity' that Hull City Council has chosen to open Hull fair, one of the
largest in Europe, on October 10. The Al Jolson impersonator was at the centre
of controversy in July when he went on stage at Hull New Theatre without his
black makeup.
Fans caused uproar but Clive was only following politically correct guidelines
drawn up by Hull City Council. After several protests the council made it known
that the guidelines were not set in stone and, after a meeting allowed him to
perform with his make-up.
Audrey Okyere-Fosu, a jazz-funk singer based in Hull said,
"The comedy of it puts
it in perspective but on the flipside it is a very sensitive issue. People
tiptoe around it, but it shows
how trivial the tiptoeing is, especially in
the light of such high profile race murders such as the Stephen Lawrence
case."
Audrey told Dependent about the murder of her friend Anna, who was a
law student with everything to live for. "She lived in an area in south east
London which suffers from racial problems and tension. The police did not get
any initial leads and quickly gave up, ignoring any theories of a race murder.
Someone had taken the body up a council tower block and thrown it off, to make
it look like suicide. She never committed suicide. She was too happy. "Clive
Baldwin will play Hull City Hall on October 10th in full makeup impersonating
Al Jolson whilst Audrey Okyere-Fosu will always play herself."
Photographs; Audrey Okyere-Fosu by Sam Langford -Clive Bowden by
Hull Daily Mail photographer
