I told him the secret. You know, that thing “we don’t tell white people”. Yesterday, a dear friend of mine who is of Hispanic decent had “THE TALK” with her Caucasian boyfriend about the realties of being a person of color in a society that does not except you as a “real” person. She told him if people of color do not belong in this society then how would children who are of mixed races handle the stress of being different. “They won’t be excepted in any society”. I tell this story because it reminded me of a video that recently aired about institutional racism. The class of 2015, Harvard students developed a video and used social media websites such as facebook, youtube, and twitter to promote their stories.
All students who were involved in the process wrote on a board a statement, question, or comment commonly said by individuals at their college. Honestly, I have heard these statements, questions, and comments on SUNY Potsdam campus as well. Before the promo of the video, each student had a photo shoot. Every student wrote on a board a statement, question, or comment they have heard said about them. These pictures where released on social media cites. Facebook was how I noticed the students and their stories. Soon after, they released a video vocally telling their stories. I loved the images because it shows how a voice can be heard with out speaking. They understand that our society is now a visual society and images can speak louder than words. Also, it suggest that due to institutional racism their voices are non-existent because of how they are perceived.
What I love the most about the video is the video. The start of the video provides and image of a mixed race women with natural hair presenting herself as strong and powerful female, because she is one. I also love the title, “#itooamharvard”, representing that this video should be shared with everyone. One, tacit I noticed in the video was the background. Even though all storytellers were in a different location nothing stood out. This tacit forces you to focus on the individual. In a society where the depth of people of color is invisible through social media this videos says pay attention to the whole of me. By having a diverse group of individuals shows that all individuals of color have different opinions and stories of what they experience instead of having one individual speak for the group. The entire video is raw, controversial as well as sophisticated and polished. (Everything I hope to be but nowhere near).
The references are not only where I found theses pictures but also articles on the video. If you are interested in learning more check them out.
Reference:
Sultaan.Z. (2014).#itooamharvard. Retrieved from: http://darling-letemstare.tumblr.com/post/78708925252/gradientlair-itooamharvard-is-a-project-by
Jazgarner. (2014). One thing you should know about that is happening this week. Retrieved from: http://comm663.wordpress.com
Eromosele,D.(2014).Black college students launch Artistic social media campaigns about race. Retrieved from: http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/03/the_black_students_at_harvard_georgetown_and_michigan_launch_social_media.html
Staff,B.(2014). Itooamharvard. Retrieved from: http://bossip.com/925504/race-matters-black-students-reveal-experiences-with-racism-and-ignorance-in-playphoto-series-i-too-am-harvard-video/
(2014). Itooamharvard.Blue dog’s eyes. Retrieved from: http://maaahryuh.tumblr.com/post/78696819812
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