Examples Of Racism In Dear White People

Racism is very much a current issue in our contemporary world. The film, Dear White People, presented a powerful and thought-provoking view on the issue of racism, its effects on society and society’s reaction to it. Racism is a systematic problem that exists in many forms as people perceive and understand racism differently. The issue of white privilege, institutional racism, intersectionality, identity and sexism are interconnected with the issue of racism. Accordingly, I will argue that racism remains to be an issue that exists in our contemporary world. It is important to examine the issue that surrounds the discrimination and inequality faced by not just black people, but also people of colour because it involves the state’s obligation

In the film, Sam White and Lionel Higgins were struggling with identity. White was bi-racial and identified herself to be black than white while Higgins was struggling with his sexual orientation. White exclaimed that she was “tired of being everyone’s angry black women.” Thomas notes that those who fought the system, especially if they were women, were often perceived as “angry women of colour… when [people were confronted with being] racist.” Thomas also notes that white people have the “immediate luxury” of being heard when they speak. Evidently, the Dear White People radio show exists because White wanted to be heard. As Matsuda points out, all free speech must be absolutely protected. However, an issue arises when the freedom of speech turns into hate speech. For instance, White has the right to express her opinions on the radio show, however, criticizing and making fun of white people is arguably hate speech. Dear White People is nonetheless a film that portrays the different encounters people experience with racism at school. It also illustrates the different forms of racisms that exist, but tend to be disregarded as racism. For example, when Tory Fairborn was supposedly being used by his girlfriend to scare her parents is a form of