Minority Groups Take A Stand Against Discriminating Halloween Costumes

By Michael Lopez

It may be hard to believe, but Halloween has been known to bring out racial undertones. Usually it's never intentional, but certain outfits that party stores deem as "funny" or "topical" can actually be offensive to various minority groups. And now, a student organization at Ohio University has started a campaign to call out politically incorrect costumes.

Using the slogan "We’re a Culture, Not a Costume," the school's Students Teaching Against Racism (STARS) organization has created a series of ads that may make you rethink what costumes cross the boundaries of good taste. Broken down into a series of five posters, the images depict Latinos, Asians, African-Americans, Native Americans, and Middle-Eastern cultures.

For the Latino-inspired ad, a student of Mexican origin is seen holding a picture of a derogatory Halloween costume. The imagery depicts a stereotyped ranchero, happily riding a donkey. For the Middle-Eastern ad, a somber teen is flashing a picture of a terrorist with a bomb strapped to his chest.

STARS issued a statement along with the posters (which has gotten a huge amount of viral attention),

"[Our mission is] to educate and facilitate discussion about racism and to promote racial harmony and to create a safe, non-threatening environment to allow participants to feel comfortable to express their feelings."

Bloggers across the web have picked up on the campaign and lent their support. And many have expanded STARS motto well beyond the theme of Halloween.

"The We're Not a Costume campaign may be timed for Halloween, but it's a reaction to an attitude that's accepted every day as normal," Arizona University newspaper columnist Kristina Bui wrote. "[Racism] manifests itself not in slurs and exclusion, but in stupid jokes and really inaccurate costumes. It doesn’t announce itself, and it’s complicated."

We couldn't agree more. Plus, with so many other costume ideas out there, why even go down the poor taste route? Just throw on an Angry Birds outfit, get some candy, and have fun!

Have you seen a lot of racist costumes on Halloween? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Agentes De Cambio, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Cultura, Halloween, Kristina Bui, Ohio University, STARS, Students Teaching Against Racism, We're A Culture Not A Costume