Judge Suspended For Wearing Blackface To Party
POSTED: 6:52 am EST December 14, 2004
NEW ORLEANS -- The Louisiana Supreme Court has given a judge a six-month suspension for wearing blackface makeup, handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit to a Halloween party.
Judge Timothy Ellender will lose all of his pay during the suspension. That totals more than $50,000.
Ellender, who is white, said the costumes worn by him and his wife were meant as a joke. She dressed as a policewoman. And the party's host, Ellender's brother-in-law, was dressed as Buckwheat.
The justices agreed Ellender did not mean to insult blacks. Still, they ordered him to take a sociology course to get "a greater understanding of racial sensitivity."
HELLO????? It was a Halloween party! What's next....sensitivity to witches, demons and fairies? That's just plain silly.