Brooklyn Pol Apologizes for Blackface

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind probably should have foreseen his use of blackface would cause outrage. The politician, an Orthodox Jew, apologized Monday for donning the makeup as part of a basketball-player costume for Purim. “In hindsight, I should have picked something else. It never crossed my mind for a split second that I was doing something wrong. It was as innocent as something can be,” he said. “My wife was dressed as the devil. And she’s not a devil. It was to look different on Purim without deep intentions. I just wanted to look different and unrecognizable.”