an interview with James Kilgore
Tag: PoC
VIDEO: Jane Elliot Brown-eye/Blue-eye Experiments
MEME: Willy on Whiteness & Minorities
10 Million Americans Switched Their Race or Ethnicity for the Census
The inconsistencies complicate the Census Bureau’s longtime attempts to improve accuracy of such data
Almost 10 million Americans changed how they identify their race or ethnicity when asked by the Census Bureau over the course of a decade, according to a new study, adding further uncertainty to data officials already consider to be unreliable.
Using anonymized data for 162 million Americans who responded to census surveys in 2000 and 2010, researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Census Bureau concluded that self-identified race and ethnicity are fluid concepts for millions of Americans.
Being colorblind to race is not the answer
Keith Maddox and Sam Sommers, associate professors at Tufts University, speak on racial stereotyping and its effects on employment. They discuss the research behind claims of “colorblindness” and how this thinking is ineffective.
“Stereotype threat is real. Know the source of anxiety and work to diffuse it. Facing your anxiety can have long-term benefits. Make implicit processes explicit [and] strategize to minimize their impact. Understand yourself and your audience. It’s OK to talk about race … even necessary.”
Click here to read more.
Who Gets To Be A Superhero? Race And Identity In Comics
The X-Men comic franchise is a story of a minority group struggling with discrimination due to their superhuman mutations — a sci-fi allegory that illustrates the troubles of real people dealing with bigotry regarding race, sexuality, health and a host of other social issues. However, many readers note that the comics fail to actually depict the people that face real-life discrimination, and instead include mostly straight, white men.
Neil Shyminsky, an academic who’s written about the X-Men‘s complicated relationship with real-life racism:
[He] argues persuasively that playing out civil rights-related struggles with an all-white cast allows the white male audience of the comics to appropriate the struggles of marginalized peoples … “While its stated mission is to promote the acceptance of minorities of all kinds, X-Men has not only failed to adequately redress issues of inequality – it actually reinforces inequality.”
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Click here for the rest of the NPR article.
More about Race & Racism in Marvel Comics
Aziz Ansari on Acting, Race and Hollywood
The hilarious Aziz Ansari recently wrote an article for NYTimes about the lack of opportunity for PoC actors in the entertainment industry. He notes that even when the rare non-white character is available, the challenges of casting tend to lead to either a white-washing of the role or to the casting of a white actor in black/brown/yellow-face.
“Even at a time when minorities account for almost 40 percent of the American population, when Hollywood wants an “everyman,” what it really wants is a straight white guy. But a straight white guy is not every man. The “everyman” is everybody.”
On Facebook, Ansari calls for more effort on the part of producers to cast non-white actors to represent diverse roles: “We are all more sophisticated, compelling, and interesting than our ethnicities, accents, and stereotypical jobs. Let’s see that on TV and film.”
Click here to read the full article.
Ansari’s been on a roll tackling Race in America; during his Tuesday night interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Ansari pointed out the rare 50% percent diversity rate of a white guy and an Indian guy sharing the stage… “an all-time high for CBS!” ???
Shining a Light, A Concert for Progress in Race in America
Artists of different races and ethnic backgrounds will come together to perform once-in-a-lifetime duets and collaborations. The 2-hour special program will broadcast from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Friday, November 20 at 8pm ET/PT across A+E Networks and 150 iHeart radio stations. The concert will raise funds for organizations and individuals (through a sponsoring organization) that are working for racial justice and reconciliation.
Lineup
Zac Brown Band, Eric Church, Andra Day, Jamie Foxx, Rhiannon Giddens, Tori Kelly, John Legend, Miguel, P!nk, Jill Scott, Big Sean, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Pharrell Williams & more
Click here for more info!
VIDEO: Race vs. State of Mind: Rachel Dolezal’s Thoughts on Whiteness
Rachel Dolezal recently visited a daytime talkshow called The Real, where she answered the hosts’ questions about her racial identity and her views on the definitions of whiteness and blackness.
VIDEO: QI – Where are 1% Of Americans?
QI (Quite Interesting) is a British comedy panel game show hosted by Stephen Fry, which brings together four comedians a week to share anecdotes and trivia.
In this clip, Fry asks the panelists “Where are 1% Of Americans?”, which kicks off a conversation about mass incarceration, bringing to light unsettling details and statistics on racial disparity in the criminal justice system and the three-strikes law.
“No society in history has imprisoned more of its citizens”
While it’s illegal to import good made by forced labor or prisoners, American prisons produce “100% military helmets, bulletproof vests… and other items of uniform … 93% of domestically produced paints… 36% of home appliances”. It could be said that America “reinvented the slave trade”; these prisoners are paid way below minimum wage, allowing the country to compete with factories in third world countries.
“5% of the world’s population is American, 25% of people in jail worldwide are American.”
Though QI is a comedy show and this particular conversation ends in a laugh, it doesn’t detract from the gravity of the pervasive existence of racial discrimination and the business side of the American criminal justice system.