Teaching about Race and Racism Across the Disciplines

Learning Activity #2: Seeing the World through Race-Colored Glasses

“Both race-gender-sexuality--conscious knowledge . . . and emotional engagement . . . are central to reducing expressions of gendered racism,” according to Paula Ioanide in “Negotiating Privileged Students’ Affective Resistances.”¹⁶  In this article, the author cites the work of Gary Olson and Lynn Worsham who claim, “We do not observe the world and then believe what we see.  We have beliefs and then observe or hallucinate the truth of our beliefs in our observation of the world.  In this case, ‘believing is seeing.’”¹⁷

But how do we get high-school students to understand the concept of believing is seeing--especially when adolescents are figuring out their own belief system and how it applies to the world?

In April, a group of African American young people organized a house party, defying Illinois’s Shelter-at-Home order.  TMZ reported, “1,000 people attended the Chicago house party during the coronavirus pandemic.”¹⁸ Police raided the home.  The attendees were labeled as selfish and irresponsible because of the reporting.

Students can write reflections that include responses to these questions:

1. In the article, who is presented as an authority, an expert, or as a person with wisdom or insight?
2. Does the article present behavior that most people will sympathize with or question?
3. How might a reader feel about the people in the news story after reading this?
4. If a reader could walk up to a person in this news article, what might he or she or they say?
5. What might readers say about these people’s decision-making processes?
6. What could be the consequences of these people’s actions and how might readers feel about those?

Next, students can read an article in Chicago’s independent news source the Tribe, which presented a different perspective.  The reporter interviewed one of the party organizers who revealed one thing, according to the reporter: “a major disconnect between government officials, news media, and younger Black Chicago residents regarding information on COVID-19.”¹⁹

An Illinois state representative also explained, “Every young person that was at that party, I would be willing to bet that they know 10 to 20 people that have been killed, and they are suffering from post-traumatic stress.”²⁰

What resulted was a more nuanced conversation about media consumption, COVID-19 messaging, personal responsibility, and the role of income and life experiences during the pandemic.

Students can then answer these questions and discuss their reactions to these two articles about the same party.

1. In this article, who is presented as an authority, an expert, or as a person with wisdom or insight?
2. What information allows readers to understand or sympathize with the people’s behavior?
3. How might this article make a readers feel differently about the party goers?
4. If a reader could walk up to a person in this news article, what might he or she or they say?
5. What might readers say now about these people’s decision-making processes?
6. How might these people’s actions result in some change to the actions of people in power?

Caveat: Maybe students will still judge the partygoers’ behavior as completely irresponsible and selfish.  The point is that readers should see that the TMZ’s article sensationalizes the situation while the Tribe’s article shows how we need systemic changes to the way the government communicates or engages with communities of color who are the most affected by the pandemic.