Illinois candidate apologies for decade-old blackface photo

Source: Associated Press


Updated 1:46 pm, Tuesday, June 19, 2018

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A candidate for the Illinois Senate has apologized for a decade-old photo from a Halloween party that depicts him dressed in blackface as a rapper.

Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton told The Belleville News-Democrat that most rappers at the time were black and he didn't intend the costume to be racist. Patton said he regrets the outfit and apologizes to those it offends.

The photo shows Patton dressed in an orange football jersey with a black bandana on his head and his face painted black. The outfit was part of a couples' costume, where his wife wore a pink dress to be a piece of bubble gum, Patton said. His costume was meant to be a play on the word 'wrapper.'

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The newspaper said it obtained the photo from Democratic sources. Patton sought to be the Republican nominee for the Senate seat but was kicked off the primary ballot because he'd signed re-election petitions for a local Democrat. He's now running as a third-party candidate and has until June 25 to submit more than 5,200 voter signatures to the State Board of Elections.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Illinois-candidate-apologies-for-decade-old-13007267.php