Abstract
Abstract In the series Dear White People (DWP), students at the fictional University of Winchester struggle for racial justice. We analyze how the series treats “race” and racism and how this relates to contemporary debates in the United States. While the series presents an imaginary environment, we recognize strong similarities to actual student life and students grappling with various experiences of oppression including sexual violence. We draw on theories of identity formation (Margalit and Raz; Vondermaßen; Young) and intersectionality (Crenshaw; Collins) to uncover how the series portrays and complicates “Blackness” as an identity-forming experience and as an experience shaped by converging forms of structural discrimination. While we highlight the merit of combining two theoretical approaches (one of identity formation and one of oppression), we note that especially intersectionality helped uncover a major blind spot of the series. Although Black women are at the center of the series and the struggle for racial equality at Winchester, their particular experiences of violence are marginalized in seasons 1–3. This tendency to overlook the experiences of Black women reflects the larger debate around race, racism, and movements for social justice.
Highlights
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal (...) unless you’re loud and Black and possess an opinion, all you get is a bullet.– Reggie Green in Dear White People, Season 1, Episode 6At the fictional University of Winchester, which strongly resembles the structure of real-life American college, Black students struggle for racial justice.[1]
We argue that Dear White People (DWP) takes up, mirrors, and spurs the contemporary debate around race and racism in America
Drawing on Margalit and Raz 2014, we argue that DWP constructs Blackness as an identity-forming experience
Summary
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal (...) unless you’re loud and Black and possess an opinion, all you get is a bullet. We draw on theories of group and identity formation[2] to show how the series constructs Blackness as an identityforming experience for Black people in the United States. While the series generally illustrates diversity and different facets of oppressive experiences in the Black community, it misses the opportunity to debate (and foreground) the police brutality and sexual abuse that Black women face in particular. This blind spot is reflective of the larger conversation around racism and oppression, where Black (trans) women remain mostly invisible.[6]. While our positionality brings limitations, we attempt to contribute to the debate out of relevancy for us, our peers, and students
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