Just 58 percent of Americans are against blackface — while 42 percent either condone it or are unsure, a new poll has found.
Between Saturday and Tuesday, YouGov polled 1,500 adults in the United States, asking, “Is it acceptable or unacceptable for a white person to wear blackface makeup?”
The majority found it unacceptable but 26 percent were unsure. The remaining 16 percent said it was acceptable.
YouGov found more of a disparity in answers among political parties. Twenty-nine percent of Republicans said they are OK with blackface, compared with just 6 percent of Democrats. Sixteen percent of independents found it acceptable.
The poll was conducted as Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s political career continues to be rocked by photos on his personal page in his medical school yearbook showing a man in blackface alongside another in a Ku Klux Klan robe. Northam has denied he is either of the men — but admitted to once donning blackface to impersonate Michael Jackson.
So far, the Democrat has refused to step down.