Are racist people in denial? The difference is in the salad bowl.
Today I watched a video probing the question “Are racist people in denial?”. It’s a powerful video. And it got me thinking. Paying attention to racism and thinking about its power and its solution has been an issue threaded through my life. I try to reflect on my own actions and intentionally talk about this topic with others, including my students, friends and family. My passion for children’s media and media literacy are also connected to this issue, since those are outlets where I feel opportunities for building understanding reside. Convincing adults to shift their ideologies and prejudices is a monumental task--as the video shows. But children present a real opportunity, as does media literacy skill building. The potential for understanding and empathy is greatest before prejudicial synapses are concretized.
Deciding to talk with children about race or, more broadly, “difference”, is a leap into the murky depths for most of us. We often shy away from any area of this topic for fear of offending or simply not knowing the right words to say. And saying that-- I’m about to jump in anyway.
I’m not positioning myself as some guru on this subject. Many others have deeper knowledge and experience on the topic. (see the list below) My experiences are mostly personal and relate to my life as a parent, as a camp counselor and supervisor, as a teacher and researcher, as a media professional and as a media consumer. But I do believe that as much as media has complicated or worsened this issue, it also has the capacity to improve the issue, or at the very least, to provide us the images and content that make the discussion possible and vitally important.
I’m not an advocate for the “color blind” approach to racial understanding or difference. Adhering to the colorblind approach means teaching to ignore racial differences. How does that help children when they clearly recognize people do have different skin colors and other differences? Children are looking for help in understanding difference and if the best we can say is “ignore it”, that’s not serving anyone well.
I’m a proponent, instead, of the “salad bowl” metaphor-- and discussion approach. In the salad bowl all the vegetables and the lettuce and the dressing live together, under the same roof/salad bowl. But despite being mixed together, the tomato still looks and tastes like a tomato, same with the broccoli, same with the carrots and everything else in that bowl. It’s not a “melting pot” of same-ness, it’s an appreciation for how the different tastes and textures make the overall salad delicious. That’s what I want children to learn about difference; not only that difference can enhance and improve, but that existing in that metaphorical salad bowl is how a salad is made, it’s just the way it is…and isn’t that great?
I’m also a proponent of intentionally giving young children a personal experience with being the minority in the room. Of course I understand there is no way for anyone to fully understand the feeling of living with a different skin color or living as a racial minority every day. But a conversation about difference (and ultimately about race) is easier if a child has had an experience where he or she felt or saw, even for a moment, what it was like to be the one person in the room who looked different than everyone else--and not just because they are wearing a different t-shirt or carrying a different backpack. (And this is true for children of color, as well as any other race or gender or ethnicity.) For a young child to understand the concept of “difference” or prejudice, the example must be simple, direct and clear. I’ve seen parents try to explain difference using the colors of M&M’s or Skittles or toys-- but those examples are just too subtle to be understood by a young child; that level of understanding would require a more mature cognitive ability. Seeing myself in a group where I look like X and everyone else looks like Y can be noticed by children as young as three. That recognition opens up an opportunity to talk with the child about the experience.
Am I being unrealistic? Is it possible to create situations in which a child is a minority, without making the situation too awkward or anxiety-filling for him or her? Since my focus is on the opportunities within children’s media and media literacy, my mind naturally wanders to the opportunities for media content, apps, games, and books that help children find the words to express what they see and find enjoyment in the difference.
Recognizing when someone (or some media property) is advocating colorblindness vs. advocating an appreciation of difference isn’t easy. It requires attentiveness to see it in real life and requires media literacy skills in our media consumption. It’s a skill that can definitely be taught-- but it must be taught. Children aren’t going to naturally recognize these differing approaches without adults to guide them. Time for me to jump on my soap box for why we need media literacy education in school for all children, at every grade!
I want children to have experiences with media that help them process all the differences they see around them, and model for them the questions they can ask.
Below are a few resources and articles, but I know that list is woefully brief. I’m working on putting together a more comprehensive list of media that touches on the subject and seems to have found a positive balance. My all time favorite and gold-standard on this is a conversation Whoopie Goldberg had with Elmo once on Sesame Street. I think I’ll end by encouraging you to watch that. Less than 3 minutes.
Some helpful resources:
Are racist people in denial? (original video that prompted this post)
How to teach kids about race (PBS.org)
Huffington Post- assorted posts about the topic
