It is high time that the practice of wearing Blackface under the guise of celebrating Purim be publicly decried and discontinued. For an elected official--an Orthodox Jewish official--to publicly and brazenly engage in a traditionally and historically dehumanizing and demeaning practice while attempting to hide behind the auspices of the Jewish holiday of Purim is despicable. In light of Assemblyman's Hikind's recent efforts in what he believes to be defense of the Jewish people through his criticism of the BDS panel at Brooklyn College and John Galliano's Chassidic-resembling garb, for Assembly Hikind to then use his Judaism as a tool to be dismissive to the sensitivities of others is deplorable. Blackface is inherently against the spirit of Purim, and any such rationale would be dismissed were it to be perpetrated by Halloween-observers. An apology should be issued by Assemblyman Dov Hikind, not only as an elected official potentially insulting and alienating his constituents, but as an Orthodox Jew whose duty is to uplift and enlighten the world.