Radio host Mark Larsen wears blackface after Obama win

It didn’t take long for the first racially controversial routine to emerge in local media following the landmark success of Barack Obama’s election Tuesday as the nation’s first black president.

The moment came at 6 a.m. this morning, when WWBA-AM 820 morning man Mark Larsen, who is white, dressed in blackface makeup at the start of his show. Joined by the station’s news director Roger Schulman, Larsen joked about caking on the cosmetics, using a number of racially influenced comments in the process. Fans could watch the whole process go down via an in-studio Webcam. (See the bottom of this post for embedded video.)

“This gives me that Uncle Tom feel,” said Larsen, who also joked about changing his name to Marcus Washington Larsen. “Are you sure this comes off? Because I don’t feel like running for president.”

Click below to see the rest of the story and see YouTube video of the incident:

Before Tuesday’s election, Larsen talked about seeing a long line of black people waiting to vote at a Tampa Bay area polling place, saying they “looked like the line for takeout at Big Tim’s Barbecue” in St. Petersburg. And shortly after putting on the blackface makeup Wednesday, he told a caller he presumed to be black that “You love (America) because you have a man of color going to the White House. Before that, you probably were a malcontent."

Still, Larsen said he intended no racial insult. “I wasn’t making fun of black people,” he added, noting that he was fulfilling a bet he made last year that he would wear blackface if America elected a politician named Barack Hussein Obama.

Why choose to wear blackface? “If Dave Chappelle can wear whiteface and make fun of white people, then I should be able to do this,” noted the host, who stressed his Libertarian political views, saying he would have voted for black Reublicans such as Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice. “The point I’m making is there’s a double standard here, and I don’t abide by the double standard.”

But there is a difference between wearing makeup to play a character of a different race -- as Fred Armisen (Obama on Saturday Night Live) and Robert Downey Jr. (playing a "method" actor in the Ben Stiller film Tropic Thunder) have done -– and donning the historic “blackface” makeup that has come to symbolize stereotypes of black people perpetuated in theater and film in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Beginning in the early 1800s, white performers used blackface makeup, raggedy clothes and white-painted lips to play the character of the coon. This figure was the star of minstrel shows depicting black people as lazy, uneducated, superstitious, musical and childlike -- all the stereotypes black people continue to fight in American society.

Talk radio has taken some criticism during the presidential election for racially insensitive language -- from some hosts’ insistence that Obama supporters might riot on Election Day to conservative Rush Limbaugh’s parody song “Barack the Magic Negro,” based on a line from a Los Angeles Times column.

Still, Larsen insisted he was not trying to evoke long-held stereotypes or racist imagery in his on-air jokes. A broadcaster for nearly 30 years, he drew criticism during a stint on WFLA-AM (970) for a Wednesday “Humpday” news segment featuring bizarre stories lampooning gay people.

“What I did today was knuckleheaded and goofy, but ... it wasn’t a big deal to me,” Larsen said. “I want to make it abundantly clear, I’m not on any mission to disparage anyone. I just don’t play double standards.”

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Comments

[Mike]

"If Larsen had any guts, he'd walk though the projects in his blackface."

I'm assuming you're saying that he'd be afraid to do that, because black people have a reputation for committing violent crimes, and he'd get beaten or killed, right?

[Mike]

I guess blacks can dish it out, but just can't take it, eh? gee, and I've been told that they're so "tough"

[tim]

Every Tampa-area broadcaster is a racist. Every broadcaster on WFLA, especially, but also your Steve Duemigs etc. It doesn't say much for us that our spokespeople are such bigots.

[so sad]

Jimmy J- You and people like you are morons. There are no purple, green, etc. people. When people use that as a referent point, it just illustrates their ignorance. People who are racist are stupid. How many of you idiots graduated from college, much less Harvard Law?

[Hope]

Hope won
Hate lost

[dave]

there is that double standard again, why would it take guts to walk through the projects wearing black paint, when a black man could walk through pinellas park wearing white paint with no problem. The race card that is why. Black people just need to get over it, your not oppressed anymore. It just shows ignorance to think you should be offended by some half rate talk show host wearing black paint. This is 2008, not the 1800's. Not the 1920's not the 1940's not even the 1960's. Unless you were born back then you really have no right to say you were oppressed. Just get past it. Lets see some real change.

Mark Larsen rocks! Best local radio show in Tampa Bay!

[Hank]

If Larsen had any guts, he'd walk though the projects in his blackface. Typical Republican/Libertarian (just a goofier form of the GOP). No guts and stupid stunts. Lionel is on 1340AM in the early afternoon. Now, he's funny.

[dave]

would dave chappelle or chris rock be a racist then, of course not, they are too funny to be racist. I guess racism and comedy has a fine line between how many laughs you get and how many people you piss off.

[John]

It is true, there is a double standard. There was that movie "white girls" where the two black guys painted themselves white and pretended they were white sorority girls. What if that movie was titled "Black girls" and it was two white guys pretending they were black ghetto girls?
How about "white men cant jump" what if there was a movie title "black men can't swim"?

[James from Santa Rosa Beach]

This is a racist act and should be deemed a hate crime agains a whole race. Are we to believe this was just a childish bet? And how does this dissapate the double standard by perpetuating it? I'm insulted by him as an American and a caucasion man.

[dave]

coldplay you are the ding of dongs

[Jon]

That guy is still on the air? I remember him devoting an entire show to the demise of R-12 freon. It was hard hitting stuff, let me tell you... while his comtemporaries went on to bigger and better places because ethey had the ability to engage people who disagreed with them.

[dave]

the double standard is so prevelant, you can read this blog and tell who is black and white. The only intelligent response on here is by GR, who acknowledges the current times. You cant not deny a black man, a white man, a yellow man, a red man, and the polka dot man his American right to free speech. IF a white man makes fun of a black man, whether in good humor, or bad humor, its his inalienable right, just as it is a black man's right to make fun of a white man in good or bad humor. It is saddening that every time a white person steps on that line it is called racism, whether Larsen is funny or not, he still has a point,in this day and age I will not accept this double standard any longer. In fact I'm sick of it. America does not owe black people anything, you are just as appreciated as the butt of a joke as white people. You should be happy with that and stop acting like you were born during the era of slavery. You would have to be over 45 to have been born in that time, and most college graduates have no memory of such time since they were not born yet. All they know about it is what they read in a HISTORY book.

How often do you see white people laughing when a black comedian is making jests against white people. IT happens all the time. It can be funny. We dont get personally insulted just because a black man slandered the white man. I think it is high time the majority of black people get with the times, and not take every single instance of a white man making fun of a black man as racist. Maybe Larsen was not funny at all, I did not hear his show, but I dont think it is American to call him a racist. And it is obvious that racism is what it is being tagged.

I VOTED FOR MCCAIN BECAUSE HE IS WHITE!
that is racist just like the black person I saw on TV leaving the polls and being interviewed by the news saying "I voted for Obama because he is black" Wonder why there was record black turn out for voting this time around, must be racism.
Wonder what the result would have been had Obama been born a few more shades of white and with white facial features. But that thought would be racist too right?

typical evangelical republican...that's why i don't vote for any of that trash...

[Jimmy Mack]

Coon? Did the author of this article really use the word "coon" as an adjective? I surely didn't see any quotation marks around the word...

[Simon]

What the hell is AM radio?

[Coldplay]

Parker @ 8:02P,

You are a ding dong.

[Kazabud1]

Humor. Whats the problem? Like Michelle wearing that watermellon dress?

[LAPD]

Can't we all just get along?

[Parker]

Oh please. Obama was elected. We have a half-black president! Can people please stop perpetuating the double standard and playing the race card? If anyone is racist, it is black people. Let's end affirmative action-- treat everyone as EQUALS, which is what i thought everyone wanted anyways. Get rid of the double standard-- aka, it's ok for a black person to vote for obama b/c he is "black"... but i'm sure if a white person voted for mccain b/c he is white they'd be lampooned. the truth is, BOTH are wrong-- the high turn out among blacks this election should really dishearten them-- why did it take a half-black candidate to get them motivated and caring about politics and their lives? that's the really sad part.

[JB]

I turned Larsen off this morning as soon as that blackface bit got going; I felt embarrassed for him. He's also the guy who cannot say "police;" for Larsen, the line is always "the poh-leese." I disagree that his shtick is typical Republican talk radio; Larsen is about as far from someone like Bill Bennett as junior high is from grad school.

[Edwina]

To anyone comparing wearing Black Face, which is a very specific and highly offensive form of old school racism, which laid the foundation for many stereotypes which still exist today, to wearing make-up color one's skin: read a history book. Mark Larsen is fanning the flames of racism and sowing the seeds of division. His actions and statements go along way to dispel this notion that he is just 'joking.' At least the Limbaughs and Buchanan's of the world own their racism.

[GR]

Somewhat disheartening, but not surprising. As an African American, I assume that I am expected to be outraged. Well, in this day and age I am not. Mr. Larsen chose to poke fun with an obvious attention getter, and attention is what he has received!

Numerous comments refer to Mr. Chappelle (Dave) and some of the antics he has pulled ie...dressing in Ku Klux Klan attire and the like.

I was equally appalled then, when Mr. Chappelle did it, as I am now, with Mr. Larsen. However, the framers of the Constitution, place the "Freedom of Expression" in it to accomodate those individuals who are insensitive to others that possess hidden talents. Should Mr. Larsen, care to embark on his new found talent of being a comedian, I ask him to consider entertaining, the UHRUHS at thier next convention.

[dave]

black people are too sensitive when it comes to making fun of black people. You should all lighten up, no pun intended!

[dave]

explain to me where the racism lies in black people making fun of white people since IT lies in the same foundation as white people making fun of black people, so either both are racist or both are okay, it cant be one is ok and the other is not. That perpetuates the double standard that he is making fun of.

[Oscar]

I think that we need Mr. Larson and all his small brain gang members from talk radio. We need them to remind us that, as unfortunately as it sounds, racism, ignorance, fear, and hatred are not going away, and that the next elections we need to go back to the pools in big numbers again, so we can get rid of those who oppose change. We need to make sure that the Republican Party and any other Party that represents fear and hatred does not rise to power again.
Keep the HOPE!

[joe]

It's only okay to make fun of white folks. Making fun of black folks is racist.

[Jay]

I was planning wearing blackface now so I could date a white woman.

[dave]

there goes that double standard again, when are black people going to realize that America doesnt owe them anything anymore, anybody should be able to to mock anybody that they want regardless of black, white, yellow, or polka dots.
Historical ignorance or acumen, that was a long time ago black people were enslaved and oppressed and your double standards are really tiresome. Imagine if white people had an organization like the NAACP that only gave scholarships to white people and only was concerned with the advancement of white people(KKK doesnt count here they dont award scholarships), wouldnt that be racist against black people! We cant do anything you do that treads on racial borders, when you do it, it is comdey and ok, when we do it its racism and ignorance. Really now who is the ignorant party on this. What would be sufficient time for your dues to be paid, 100 years 200 years. Obama had people of all races vote for him, why cant he have people of all races make fun of him?!! Answer that with intelligence and maybe we will see progress and real change!

[Somacandra]

When Dave Chappelle dons whiteface, he isn't making fun of white people--he's making fun of the 'blackface tradition' of lampooning and racial exaggeration.

When Mark Larsen puts on blackface, he isn't mocking whiteface, he's just mocking black people.

Historical ignorance this immense ought to be punishable. His high school diploma ought to be revoked.

[Adam]

Hmph... I guess we weren't ready for a black president.

[dave]

I agree with this guy and feel he makes a great point. It has been a long time in freedom for blacks in america, yet they can get on TV and say " I voted for Obama because her is black", yet if I said on TV to the news when I left the polls 'I voted for McCain because he is white' there would be all kinds of backlash from that. Im sick of the double standard myself. Obama being elected shows all kinds of things about America, one of which is that these types of double standards no longer have a place in America, blacks have been free long enough that they shouldnt be using it against the rest of America anymore!

[Johnny Quest]

these morons just can't keep a lid on the racism that simmers inside, can they?
just goes to show the election of a black president has absolutely no impact on the deep and institutional racism that exists in america.

[JJ]

Why can't the St. Petersburg Times cover a story and just print the facts and not put their opinions or slant on the article? Journalism is about reporting the facts of the article and not the opinion or the perspective of the writer or of the media they work for.

[Just thinking like Larsen]

I go to Dairy Inn and order one of those soft serve shakes that is half vanilla and half chocolate. When it melts fully do I have a vanilla/chocolate shake,a chocolate/vanilla shake, or just a shake. Confused on how 50% becomes 100% ever.

[Seriously?]

Really? Pathetic comes to mind.

[If we really want to call it what it is-]

Congratulations to my brother, Barack. Congratulations on being voted the first Caucasian-African/American President.
Sincerely,
An Irish-Swedish/Jewish-Welch American.

[Frank]

We live in a state where 50+% of the people are bigots who voted to approve Amed 2 yesterday. What do you expect from these kind of people? Hate!

[Houston]

P.S. I voted for Obama.

[Houston]

Pink folk cannot use the "N" word but brown folks can use it amongst themselves as well as slang terms for paler shades of people.

[birdman]

Never heard of Mark Larsen.

['white' Obama voter]

jeez.. who cares? really?

One would think that after just voting in a 'black man' as President of The United States, we be passed this kind of s..., or at the very least, let it roll off your back like water on a duck.

This country has much larger issues then some radio jockey's air wave stunt.

And can we PLLLEEAAASSEEE, just call President Obama, President Obama, or Pres. or the 44th President of the U.S. and not the '1st black president'.
he is an American, he is our new leader, he is the next President.

oh and one last rant:

How do we go from raising our kids NOT to lie, yet almost ALL politicians do, is lie... oh I'm sorry, tell 1/2 truths?

So the most powerful person on the planet, gets elected by lying, but we have to convince our kids that lying is wrong?

My 11 year old Honor student already started, jokingly, that he was sick this morning, but came clean and send it was only a 'half truth'

I only hope, and I feel good about it, that Obama is different.

[Dawn]

Someone needs to tell this idiot that 2 wrongs don't make a right. Just because Dave did it, he should be able to? Dave was wrong and so is he. Maybe seems he is so fond of coping Dave, we could get them both to jump off a bridge.

[Tom in Clearwater]

And to reiterate what some of you missed that was in the article, Mark's a Libertarian, not a Republican.

You want to do away with something, do away with double-standards in America!

[Dan]

Hard to believe that Republicans would dismiss such a historic election by acting like Birmingham, circa late 1960s.

Actually, no it's not. The party of racism, ignorance, fear, and hatred proves itself yet again!

[John Barger]

FIRE HIS BUTT. CALL THE FCC. HE DOES NOT DESERVE A JOB IN BROADCASTING AND HIS EMPLOYER MUST BE CENSORED AND FINED.

AGAIN,OUR TOWN IS NATIONAL NEWS FOR A BACKWARD INTOLERANCE AND CELEBRATED AT THAT.

CLOSE IT ALL DOWN AND LEAVE TOWN.

[Xavier]

Never even heard of the radio station or this guy. He's not relevant.

[Pete]

I haven't heard Mark Larson on the radio for several years, but I'm not really surprised he did this because of what talk radio has become with the one sided, distorted, low rent, rantings of Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. But the report that newsman Roger Schulman was involved in some way via his, at a minimum, joining Larson in the studio as this classless stunt unfolded is disappointing.

I can recall listening to Schulman at various local radio stations as he delivered the news for probably more than thirty years, including his stints at WUSF television and possibly their radio affiliate. And his being a part of this tasteless activity in any way is a real let down to one who considered Schuleman to be a respected professional.

[Steve]

Eric, how long now have you been trying to play "gotcha" with Larsen? 12 years now? Look, give credit to both he and Schulman for keeping their word and doing something that was actually hysterical. This was a light-hearted thing that was amusing to us who have been in mourning since 11PM last night, and relevant to the day's events. This is a clear double-standard that is allowed to exist, and I also am sick of it.

Beltwaybandit, if anything, Schnitt is a poor man's Larsen who does nothing but repeat Limbaugh on a daily basis.