Craig Stivender is a firefighter based in Colleton County, South Carolina who's choosing to be an open book as he runs for the Colleton County sheriff position. Craig began his campaign by addressing his past mistakes for transparency reasons and shared an image from a time he dressed in Blackface as a Big Meech costume.
"Basically if I'm going to run on honesty and integrity, I'm willing to put out things bad about me," he told NPR. Craig said he chose the costume because he's a police officer and he wanted to be something completely opposite - an infamous drug kingpin.
“I did it to disparage a criminal whose actions hurt our community and country,” Craig added. “That was a different time. Today we understand that type of costume is troubling to many. To those who may be upset, I understand your disappointment. But I value honesty, so I’m opening my campaign with transparency.”
Craig detailed how there was no racial bias behind his costume and if there was he wouldn't have attended the Halloween party with a Black woman, who didn't have a problem with his Blackface. The election that Craig is running in takes place in November 2020.