Sheriff candidate wears blackface in campaign video

A man running for sheriff in South Carolina released a campaign video that includes a photo of him wearing blackface at a Halloween party in 2009, reports the Huffington Post. In the video, where he is standing with a Black woman, the called the incident a “different time” when such attire wasn’t seen as “troubling to many.” The campaign video shows Craig Stivender, 36, who is running for Colleton County Sheriff, wearing what appears to be a painted on goatee, an earring and a gold chain necklace while standing next to a Black woman. “I want to tell you some things that politicians would try to hide, things that my opponents may try to use to tarnish my integrity,” he says in the video before rattling off details about his family life, driving history and issues at work. He then reveals the photo that he says shows him portraying Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, a convicted drug trafficker who co-founded the Black Mafia Family in Detroit. Stivender says he released the clip because he values “honesty and transparency.” The woman in the video was not identified. Stivender is a Republican.