Photos: Blackest Halloween Costumes For The Culture In 2023

Al Roker – a Lionel Ritchie – and Sheinelle Jones – as Diana Ross – attend the Halloween-themed show on “Today” at Rockefeller Plaza on October 31, 2023, in New York City. | Source: John Nacion / Getty

Boo! Black America went all out and then some for this year’s celebration of Halloween, if the sampling of seasonal getups that have been posted to social media is any indication. From famous folks to everyday citizens and people in between, costumes celebrating Black culture were all but ubiquitous as folks went to extreme measures to portray famous African Americans.

But there were also cultural moments that were observed via costumes, such as the notorious Montgomery Riverboat Brawl in Alabama from over the summer when a number of Black people defended a Black man from a vicious mob of white people angry because they were being held accountable for their actions.

That’s far from the only Black cultural moment that came to life during Halloween 2023, which saw celebrities go all out for their costumes. But regular folks also did their thing with costumes, complete with little children paying homage to one of the most successful and influential R&B groups of all time, a tribute and shout out to perennial man-of-the-year contender Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, Trayvon Martin’s resilient and brave mother rightfully dressing up as a superhero and even a supermodel perfectly imitating comedian Katt Williams. It didn’t end there, either. Rapper Cam’ron — who has successfully transitioned from his impressive decades-long hip-hop career into sports analysis with the popular online show “It Is What It Is” — even dressed up as the inimitable OJ Simpson. The acquitted murderer remains an all-time football great, and Cam’ron made sure to remind his viewers of that fact. There was even a costume made to resemble Sha’Carri Richardson, the all-world sprinter who remains on a redemption tour of sorts after being snubbed in the 2020 Olympics by shattering all types of track and field records this year. In short, Black folks took no, um, shorts this year to celebrate their own in no uncertain terms to show that, despite Halloween being “A European-rooted holiday that began with disguised White people welcoming devils into their homes” — as writer Bonsu Thompon described “America’s most trash holiday tradition” — we not only participate in the fun but if there was a national content, we just might win all the top prizes. At least, for this year. In the meantime, keep reading and scroll down to find what just might be the Blackest Halloween costumes for the culture of all time, and let us know who you think had the best one. If we forgot anybody, tag us on social media to let us know and we’ll update this growing list.