W. Kamau Bell’s lecture was fantastic. He brought up
how when we talk about racism in America, we like to keep things safe and
comfortable. I both love and hate that he approached this discussion on racism with humor. I think he's witty in his approach, but I hate that in order to feel comfortable talking about race, we need to do so with humor.
He talked about People magazine's most beautiful people edition. I knew that people of color were under-represented in the editions, but I did find it concerning that only 2 african american males were ever featured as the "sexiest man alive". It's disgusting that people of color are often not considered beautiful.
In the PBS series, "Black in Latin America", Professor Gates shows a news and magazine stand where no women of color are featured, despite the tremendous amount of ethnic diversity in Brazil. This is not just a problem in the United States, but a global issue. The idea that white is what's beautiful spread with imperialism.
W. Kamau Bell talked about an incident where he was discriminated against because he is black. He is married to a white woman and he was accused of harassing her and her friends at a restaurant. It's really important for students in this class to have heard about this story, because it's such a common occurrence for men of color to be seen as harassers of white women. Black men used to be lynched if they were accused of looking at, talking with, harassing, or just engaging in consensual relations with a white woman. This part of our history is still continuing in different ways and it does not benefit America to not talk about it.
He talked about People magazine's most beautiful people edition. I knew that people of color were under-represented in the editions, but I did find it concerning that only 2 african american males were ever featured as the "sexiest man alive". It's disgusting that people of color are often not considered beautiful.
In the PBS series, "Black in Latin America", Professor Gates shows a news and magazine stand where no women of color are featured, despite the tremendous amount of ethnic diversity in Brazil. This is not just a problem in the United States, but a global issue. The idea that white is what's beautiful spread with imperialism.
W. Kamau Bell talked about an incident where he was discriminated against because he is black. He is married to a white woman and he was accused of harassing her and her friends at a restaurant. It's really important for students in this class to have heard about this story, because it's such a common occurrence for men of color to be seen as harassers of white women. Black men used to be lynched if they were accused of looking at, talking with, harassing, or just engaging in consensual relations with a white woman. This part of our history is still continuing in different ways and it does not benefit America to not talk about it.
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