Is Blackface Appropriate At Work?

A long time town Comptroller, and some of his employees don’t understand how offensive blackface is. Hopefully, someone can make them understand that it’s just not good.

Can you imagine going to work and seeing one of your supervisor’s displaying himself in black face on his work email? That was the case for some employees in the town of Niskayuna, NY.

According to Times Union, Longtime Town Comptroller Paul Sebesta submitted his letter of resignation last year. He only did so after citizens of the town complained.

Sebesta was employed by the Town of Niskayuna for 32 years. He was one of the highest-paid employees in the entire town, but three days after The Town Board confronted him with his disgraceful behavior, he submitted his letter of resignation.

Sebesta had no reservations about appearing in blackface. He was so proud of himself, he bragged about it and he made sure to let his employees know about the images on a calendar in his office.

So many citizens complained, they forced the Town to consult with a law firm to investigate.

The Nixon Peabody law firm investigated the incident. During their investigation, they found photos of Sebesta from 2018. He was dressed in blackface as a person from the Caribbean or West Indies. Sebesta’s Facebook account said that he was dressed in the spirit of Bob Marley.

Here is my humble opinion. If this highly paid town executive was able to work in a high power position for 32 years, there is no way that he did not know that dressing in black face is very offensive to Black people. It’s a dreadful reminder of racist minstrel shows that depict Black people as subservient. That’s just my opinion, what is yours?

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