french fingertips red lips bitch is dangerous ([info]tacky_tramp) wrote in [info]debunkingwhite,
@ 2008-04-04 08:16:00
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"It's not about race anymore"
A video that the Obama camp sent to its supporters:



I like that this teacher turns the subtext of race into an explicit topic of conversation in his class, and the kids are adorable, but I can't help but cringe at the nice white guy vibe and the colorblindness talk. I feel like the message is, "Yes, we teens of color can succeed ... because Barack Obama is showing us that racism is over!"

What about you?

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[info]sanguinity
2008-04-04 08:06 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I'm not thrilled with the colorblindness-as-ideal he that he's advocating. I like that he explicitly addressed racial expectations when it came up in class, but I think he should have stayed with exploring how folks define their group identities. Advocating that there shouldn't be groups at all isn't a great response.

Responding to your question, I'm not getting the racism-is-over vibe. I'm seeing the message as, "We've been watching Barack Obama succeed despite racism, and we're starting to believe that we can do it, too!"

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[info]ladypolitik
2008-04-04 08:25 pm UTC (link)
That's exactly the vibe I got.

Great "teachable moment". And the students are not only absolutely charming, they're also in tune with issues pertaining to race/racism in their generation. Loved it. So yes, I wasn't too thrilled with the bits of Racism Is Over!™ seemed to seep in, whether that was intentional or not.

I think the real problem is that the teacher didn't pursue an explicit-enough distinction between two realities:
  • one where POC *tend* to be 'color-blind' already, in that they don't wake up every morning thinking of themselves as "POC"
  • one where "racialization" is actually imposed on POC once they step out of their house and into Eurocentric societies.

For what it's worth, Jay Smooth(www.illdoctrine.com) does a great job of explaining what this suddenly stylish notion of "post-racial" thinking should TRULY entail.






Edited at 2008-04-04 08:38 pm UTC

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[info]born_stubborn
2008-04-04 10:52 pm UTC (link)
I'm loving some Jay Smooth.

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[info]ladypolitik
2008-04-04 10:54 pm UTC (link)
Jay is cool as hell.

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[info]kmd
2008-04-04 10:01 pm UTC (link)

No, you know what? I don't think it's about racism being over. I think it's about teens of color saying "hot damn, there's somebody who looks like me with a chance at being president!"

I don't like the White teacher aspect and I wish he had less screen time, but other than that, I was so frickin' HAPPY for these kids. Even if Obama doesn't win, his candidacy has made a difference in their lives. Fixed all of the problems they face? Hell no. Made a difference.

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[info]th3k1d
2008-04-05 05:13 pm UTC (link)
I definitely agree with out about how much screen time the teacher gets. Back off, dude, it's about these kids!

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[info]penguingod
2008-04-06 07:00 am UTC (link)
Word.

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