When I went to see Dear White People, I was wondering how the younger generation of African American filmmakers would deal with racial issues. This is the generation who voted for the first black president in U.S. history. The film doesn’t deal with poor black people, but with young blacks who are struggling with their identities in a privileged white environment. The film reminds me of Beverly Tatum’s book, “Why are All Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” Even in college, there are black students who are still on the “pre-encountering stage” in terms of racial experiences. Some people are like the character of Sam, whose campus radio show, Dear White People, gave the title to the film. She notes on her program all the mindless things whites do without realizing how racist and annoying they are – such as touching black people’s hair as if they were in a petting zoo. Whites should also not accuse non-whites of racism. To back this up, Sam quotes Tatum: “People of color are not racist because they do not systematically benefit from racism.” That was a powerful and timely message. The other black students react in different ways to her bold expressions of anger, showing how African Americans are not a monolithic group, and that there are many variations of perspective. Most of the white students in the movie are stereotypically naïve and generally clueless. This culminates in a blackface hip-hop party, where the white students have no idea that they are doing anything wrong. They feel that they can’t be racist because they are not trying to be racist. It’s kind of like the Washington fans who don’t see anything wrong with the R-word, and defend it by saying they don’t intend for it to be racist. Even though it is.

In our white-dominated society where white culture is norm, the notion of a colorblind society is a fantasy. This film shows how whites need to get clued in, and that even blacks struggle to find their identity in our multicultural society. Teachers and educators need to watch this.