Dov Hikind, a New York state assemblyman, apologized after
coming under criticism for dressing up in blackface for Purim.
"I'm sorry
people were offended," Hikind said Monday at a news conference outside his
Brooklyn home, according to the New York Daily News. "In hindsight, I should
have picked something else. It never crossed my mind for a split second that I
was doing something wrong." A photo of Hikind dressed in a black wig and wearing
dark makeup had been posted on Facebook. He is flanked by his wife, dressed as a
demon, and son, who is sporting yin-yang facial makeup.
"I am deeply
shocked and outraged by the insensitive actions of Assemblyman Hikind, to dress
as a black basketball player complete with tanned skin and an Afro wig,” said
Hikind's fellow Brooklyn Democratic Assemblyman Karim Camara, the chairman of
the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus,
in a statement picked up by New York media.
The Anti-Defamation League
blasted Hikind's costume as showing "terrible judgement."
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