Dr. Sara DiazWGST 280: Gender, Sexuality, and Popular CultureGonzaga University

Post-Race & Colorblind Racism

Color-blind Racism

• Why is “color blindness” a problem?• Ignores the way race continues to structure life

chances.• Reinforces racism by creating the illusion that

everyone has an equal chance• If everyone is truly equal, then it is logical to blame

people for their lack of success.

• Post-race is the racial corollary of post-feminism• How do we know that race and racism are still

important features of our society?

Residential Segregation: STL

Effects of Segregation• 75% of white people have exclusively white social networks.• 65% of Black people have exclusively black social networks.• The average white person lives in a neighborhood that is 75%

white.• The average Black person lives in a neighborhood that is 35%

white (unchanged since 1940!).• Latinos and Asian Americans on average are less residentially

segregated than Black people.

• How do we learn about people who are different from us?• How do we learn about the effects of racism??

Race in Survivor

• How did the show reinforce the idea that “race” doesn’t matter?• How did it rest on racist stereotypes at the

same time?

Post-Race & Media

• Where else do you see examples of post-race ideology in media?• How does post-race ideology fit the definition of

“hegemony”?• … [An] attempt to persuade the populace that the

hierarchical social and economic system is fixed and “natural” and therefore unchangeable. (D & H 627)• the process by which those in power secure the

consent of the socially subordinated to the system that oppresses or subordinates them. (D&H p. 627)

Ferguson News Coverage

• How has the news covered the recent events in Ferguson?•What other forms of media are used to

disseminate information?

Ferguson News Coverage

• How did J. Cole and Lauryn Hill respond to the unrest?

• How does their work resist the hegemonic ideology of post-race?

•What role does popular culture play with respect to the continuing fight for civil rights?