Racism 2.0
I decided to take a different approach for my research on Racism. I wanted to explore the most popular website to get an idea of what is being said regarding racism.
Mashable:
On Mashable! the article I came across was about MTV's 'Look Different' campaign. This is a documentary that was created to show how race matters. A white person will take the place of someone from a different race in instances where the color of their skin might put them at a disadvantage, or as the trailer says, for "lifes racially unbalanced situations". MTV has taken some heat, yet also receiving praise for tackling the problem of racial discrimination.
I watched the trailer for White Squad on you tube, and am including it in my post. It made me laugh, but it really made me stop and think. Is this really happening? Why does it have to be this way? Everyone should watch this to make them more aware of their surroundings.
A website, Twitter account, and toll-free help line were created that are actually legitimate. These accounts, and phone number direct viewers to a variety of resources regarding racism. I feel that this is an excellent way to educate the public, and get everyone involved to solve the problem of racial inequality.
Wired.com
The article, It's Time To Get Real About Racial Diversity in Comics, was published on July 25, 2015. This article discusses whether or not there is enough minority diversity being seen in comics. C. Spike Trotman said, "Diversity of every sort - racial diversity, gender diversity, acknowledging minority sexualities - is experiencing an explosion of recognition and representation in comics." The fact of the matter is, that someone, somewhere is going to be offended.
Writer for BOOM! Studios, Mark Waid said, "We're in a social media era where there are so many people who didn't have a voice for a long, long time, and suddenly they have a voice, and they're eager to use it." Basically, all aspects of social media are facing these kinds of issues. This is something that is going to require them to listen and integrate diversity into everything they do. Everyone needs to accept the change, and embrace it.
Gizmodo
America Has Lost the War Against Guns, written August 27, 2015. This article is regarding the tragic story in Roanoke, Virginia of the two journalist that were killed by a former co-worker. Gizmoda indicates that this story will inspire more headlines than all the other gun deaths. This is because of how the killer shared his view on social media. You ask what this has to do with racism, well it is unfortunate that the killer, Vester Flanagan felt that he had been racially discriminated against, and this was his reasoning for taking their lives.
The article mostly discusses the issues of guns, and gun control. I am hoping that this story will spark more articles to be written regarding the issues of racism, rather than pointing more towards gun control.
GigaOM
The most recent article I could find on GigaOM was on August 21, 2014. The article titled, Eight Charts that put tech companies' diversity stats into perspective, compares gender and ethnicity demographics for top companies. Pinterest engineer, Tracy Chou suggested that there should be a "state of the union" for companies yearly that would show the demographic information within the company. It is all about implementing diversity in the work place.
I found this brief article interesting. I can't help wondering if we are becoming more concerned about whether or not there is enough diversity within the workplace, than the quality of workers within the workplace. I know this is a delicate subject, but it is sad that companies are having to worry about something like this.
On CQ Researcher I found the article, Fighting Urban Poverty. This article indicates that racism is one of the reasons amongst many that is the cause for poverty. Although, Socialists Karl Alexander, and Linda Olson of Johns Hopkins University said that, "poverty is colorblind" indicating that regardless of race all are affected by poverty. In light of all of the riots happening experts are blaming
the underlying cause of poverty with racism listed first followed by crime, unemployment, and poor schools to name a few.
Alan Greenblatt wrote Millennial Generation in June 2015. He said that millennials ages 18-34 year olds is the largest generation ever in the United States. He indicates that there are more millennials in the workforce than any other age group, and is the most diverse. He also said that they are the most educated of all other age groups. Greenblatt said that millennials are going to re-shape the way Americans shop, how they consume news, and how they communicate. They are leading the way in social media. The unique thing about millennials, is because of their diversity, they will help America to become a more tolerant society. Due to the diversity within this group, they are around people of all different races seeing them as people, not someone who is racially different.
The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, designed Facebook to bring people together. People need to use social media to create communities based on their interests. The best part of this, is you get to choose what you are apart of.
As with all social issues, the answers need to begin with us. We need to be the ones to educate our children, we need to show through our actions and lead by example. Racial equality has to start somewhere. Whether is be on YouTube, through comics, social media, or the workplace, let us be the ones to help it. Let us not only be tolerant, let us be patient and all work together. It shouldn't matter what age group we fall into, because all lives matter.
Really interesting statement from Mark Waid. It's so true that social media has created a platform for people who have recently not felt the freedom to express themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnnette, I think that the parody of the "white squad" highlights the plight of the non-white members of society. The white privilege is one that is taken for granted by those that it benefits. Focusing attention on the issue is important to bring white privilege to the forefront of discussion, and the "white squad" is doing that beautifully and humorously. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI watched the "white squad'' video and was totally shocked. The young girl who said she couldn't get a scholarship until she called the white squad made me upset. I can't even imagine how life would be if that were the case for me. Racism has really come a long way.
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