I have a scene that I'm working on. The character in the scene is an actor who's black wearing a black face. At the end of the scene I have him wiping the makeup and resolving not to wear it again. Here is the closing paragraph.
Things were bubbling inside of him. Bizarre feelings that he shouldn't have. Feelings that belonged to a figment of an imagination. The image staring back at him was studying him and he thought he caught a glimpse of an expression of contempt. He closed his eyes shut trying to squeeze out the copious amounts of tears that refused to oblige earlier and were now flowing unhindered. He heaved a breath in, trying to avoid deteriorating into a sobbing fit. He didn't know what was happening to him. This was not the pain from the cigarette burn. This emotion overtaking him now was something else. Something much deeper.
He felt betrayal.Moses felt betrayal. The actor picked up a cleaning cloth, wiping the tarnish from his face, vowing not to hide his true face ever again.
Notes:
- Moses is the name of the character the actor is playing.
- I wrote the last few sentences, shown in italic, are for the sake of this question. They may not be in the final piece.
- Clarification: It appears that my original question didn't clarify my intentions for the scene well enough. The time period is early 1900s. The place somewhere on the East Coast (I'm considering Philadelphia). The Actor (MC) is black. Wears a blackface makeup. This behavior is historically accurate. Black entertainers used to wear blackface to meet the expectations of the audience and requirements of the industry. Bert Williams, one of the most prominent black performers at the time wore blackface makeup often.
The question is: how to reveal the fact that The Actor is black at the end? I hint at his true race to the reader by building up conflicting emotions within the MC. I hope I confirm their suspicions at the end in a surprising but "makes sense" kind of way.