Chevonne has posted this YOUTube Video on another thread and I wanted to put it here in its own thread for you to watch and comment - this is a provacative video and one that will push you to ask some difficult questions about society, race, schooling, and the way in which we teach children (conciously and unconciously) about race.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybDa0gSuAcg
Happy posting, Ladies!
dr.m
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I watched the video and several thoughts came to mind. First of all, I don't think I understand why they think that "white" = good and "black" = bad. I wonder who taught them this? Was it parents, teachers, peers, society? It's interesting that they are so young and still feel this way. I guess I have always felt that even though some people have the mindset that these children have, that children raised in a primarily black community would be taught differently....guess I'm pretty nieve :)
I have actually seen this video before in another class, and felt the same way I did just now. And the same way Mary feels, which is ...why? It makes me sad that most all of the children picked the white doll to be the nice doll. I wonder why they feel that way? It makes me really sad to see the little girl at the end shyly, and almost embarassingly (I don't know if that's a word!) slide the black doll towards the interviewer when she asks "can you give me the doll that looks like you?" after she has said that she likes the white doll better. :(
I just watched the video, and I agree with Marybeth and christine. I don't understand why they pick the white doll. I was thinking maybe it is what they see on t.v. or in the media as being better. Its really sad to me that kids that young feel like white is good, and black is bad. We need to work in our classrooms, to make everyone feel equal, and not one race better than another. These kids were obviously hearing from somewhere that white was better.
i agree with what everyone is saying
and the same question comes to mind: why?
so when i try to answer that question for myself i came up with a slew of answers... the media, parents, society, unsaid gestures, negative comments, etc...
all of these things affect what and how a child learns.
i just read the readings for tuesday and they all have to deal with race/differences in culture.
and the last one especially brings up some good points as to how to deal with it...
but here's what i think:
what i think is that the cycle lessens with each generation... like dr. m said in class about our generation being A LOT more open to gays/bisexuals than previous generations... sometime in the future i think that will be a normal and common occurrence. my grandmother is still VERY much has a racist mindset because that was a normal way of thinking during the time that she developed her thoughts... it's how most of her generation thinks. not that it's right... my mother and father are WAY less like that than my grandparents generation, however more so than i think i, along with friends and people from my generation are. the same goes for my little 9 year old brother... sure it's probably too early to tell what he'll be thinking in the future... but i'd be willing to guess that his generation will notice race a little less than i do... and the cycle goes on. but can the cycle ever truly end...? the factors that affect and contribute to a certain way of thinking lessen over the years, and with each generations lessened view, their factors in turn lessen.
sadly this reminds me of math... and i am not sure what they are called, but those graphs that never quite reach 0. they can get as close to zero as 0.0000000000001, but they will never reach a value of zero...
i dont' know if i've lost anyone...lol... sometimes i just don't know how to phrase things so i keep talking til i feel like i can't describe it anymore, but i guess my point is that, i don't know if it will ever completely end... i think it'll get less and less and less, but it won't necessarily ever go away...
haha i think i've lost my point at having to do with the dolls... but i think i'll post it anyway... i don't evne know how i was going to connect it... but it's the little things that kids pick up on that cause them to think the white is good and the black is bad... there are a lot of things angels/purity/clouds all are represented by white, and things that black represents include, darkness/scary/sin/unknown... the different connotations within those examples might cause children to think darker=bad lighter(whiter)=good.
so with what i said earlier, and what i just said now. it seems that things can improve, and can change quicker... but will it ever completely NOT be there... when we teach in history about slavery will the thought of racism be completely forgotten.
and to just go along with this... another idea of persecution si hitler and the jews.... do they still have problems in europe with jewish people... are they separated in class or within education or some of the ways we are still separated here in our country?
i don't know if they are or aren't, it'd be interesting to look up... but if they aren't, why aren't they and how did their cycle end? because that would be the key to ending our cycle....
In referring to Mary Beth's comment, I had many of the same thoughts. But I do believe that a child will think the same way that their parents think, therefore if they see there parents acting in a certain way they will do as the parents do. Its only human nature to do so. I think as you get older you form other opinions by watching what others do and see and not just by what your parents are saying about it.
WOW!!! What a great conversation here - excellent comments and I'm pleased with how critically you all are thinking...I won't add my thoughts just yet...want to see where this thread goes, but wanted to let you all know I am reading.
dr.m
I agree with all the comments about the parenting and other factors such as the teachers, peers, and society. As a child, I was told about the slavery times many times. Its as if you are forced to hold the same beliefs as your parents. We are held to the same racial thoughts as whites. As a parent, I try to allow Angel to create her own beliefs about people from her experiences as I did. The video is sad indeed, however, a lot has changed since then. We have inter-rational relationships. We have the same opportunities. There have been lots of changes since the video. Thank Goodness for that!
I have never seen this video, but I have heard about it. I feel like society has given the name of "good" for white and "bad" for black, just from all the media and history. It is awful that at the end, the little girl chose the white doll as the good, and the black doll as the bad. Then, felt embarressed that she pointed out that she most resembled the black doll. But I think this video really helped me open my eyes and see what is really going on and what is throughout the minds of children.
I don't know what quite to think of this video. This thought going through my head may be just because i;ve been doing too much english lately (hah) but lets think about this. Anything that is "dark" or "black" symbolizes something evil or scary. On the other hand, something white symbolizes purity or goodness. The handsome prince always rides up on his white horse whereas the antagonist usually has the black horse. Think of Fantasia, where the evil "black" horses come riding up to ruin the fun that all of the lighter colored horses and mythical characters are having. This might have soemthign to do with race, but it may just be an instinctive association with the symbolism of colors. Why are children much more scared of the dark than the light? I could be way off base here, but i think it's possible.
That's a different way to look at it, I've never noticed that before- good example. After watching this video, I feel like I have also opened my eyes to the reality of racial issues in our country. I was mentoring a 2nd grader last week and we were just talking about school and how he left his first school that he attended in 1st grade to come to this one. I didn't even ask any questions and he went on about how his teacher in 1st grade at the other school was so prejudice with all of her comments she would make everyday. He did not like this teacher and it's why he left that school, but my point is that children notice this at such a young age- it's just blows my mind how young he was to be venting to me about this prejudice teacher.
I was so disturbed to see that cute little girl answer that she was like the doll she had previously pointed out to be the "bad doll." I guess my main question is how do they know this, what makes them feel the way they do? Something in their lives, inside or outside of school, has to influence them to make them think that the 'white doll' is better than the 'black doll.' I just have a hard time understanding it.
I had never seen or heard about this video!!! I was very surprised by the results. I did not expect the children to choose the white doll. I think I can see how they might think the black doll as bad and the white doll as good. This is how society perceives white and black a good bit of the time. However, I did not think that they would choose the white doll to play with. It confused me!! I thought they would have choosen there own color as good and the one they wanted to play with. And by the way... I think the kids were very cute!!!
As I read everyone's comments I too was confused and disturbed about the video. But like i said previously the children only chose the doll they did becuase of how they were brought up and the ways they were taught. They didnt just wake up one morning and decide white people are good and bad people are bad. Some one put those thoughts into their head. The child is not a fault for continuing to this such thoughts it is the people who are teaching the children this that are in the wrong. It is our duties as friends, teachers, parents, aunts etc. to teach children that color isnt an issue or religious backgrounds. we can not expect society to ever change if we continue to teach our children such things. Children are the future if you feed them with nonsense they will continue to speak of it. its our obligation to change it and if we as adults choose not to then we cant be disturbed when we hear about it.
I agree with Lauren that these thoughts have been put into children's minds.
Whle reading everyone's comments I thought of how when I was little there were no black barbies or dolls and if there were any at all there were just a few. As I got older more black barbies and dolls were sold and eventually they came out with one for each race. I would understand a child back when most of us were little girls picking the white doll over the black because that was the most popular doll but for a child now to choose that makes me wonder why.
In one of the readings we had, it talks about the Lion King, and how the "evil" lion was a darker color than the "good" lions. Although I don't agree with how Tatum shows that this is a racist movie, I do think it is interesting how the darker color is related to "evil" or "bad." Relating it to the video, I am wondering when the colors white and black became associated with the words "good" and "bad?”
I agree with what everyone is saying, and I really think that it all depends on how the child was brought up. If they grew up in a household where the parents were racist, they too might become racist. But if they meet a little kid at school of a different color, and make friends with them early on, maybe they will form their own opinions. We can only hope! AND teach them that everyone is equal! haha
Also, while teaching children about slavery, maybe re-enforce that slavery was a long time ago, and that things are very different today. Of course you are still going to have some people who don't want to change, or who are still racist, but you have to teach that no one color is better than the other.
I agree with Lauren about how thoughts and beliefs are instilled in children, sometimes. A few years ago, the girl that conducted this survey was on Oprah, and she had many of the same questions about why these things are so prevalent. After I watched the video this second time, my same question is why are these things almost the "norm" of society?
I can't say that I ever had too many dolls if any that were anything other than white. I don't think this is because my parents were trying to keep me playing with a certain "type" of doll, other than I always picked out my dolls, and I just wanted dolls that looked like me, blonde with blue eyes (typical Barbi). So I guess I've also always been pretty nieve to anything to do with race issues. It is a very good topic to discuss, though, as society is seeming to change so much, so rapidly.
I agree with Christine that it all depends on how the child was brought up. But I don't know why people would hate who they are and the color of their skin. It makes me really sad to see all the black children choose the white dolls. Maybe some of the black children who chose the white dolls were raised in violent homes and say that the black dolls are bad and the white dolls are good. It's just a guess but I have no clue otherwise.
Wow, this video just makes me really sad. I agree with what sarah cobb said about some of our Disney movies that are being made. It even exists in The Lion King...which is my favorite Disney movie!!! I didn't even realize this underlying racism in the movie until it was pointed out to me in the reading. I believe society and the media has ALOT to do with how we view ourselves. It is very possible that the children in the video have been raised in a family who taught them that everyone is equal, but in today's society, it is nearly impossible to escape this. It is almost as if we dont give the minorities a chance. In the end of the video when the little girl had to choose which one was most like her, it was obvious that she was mortified of the black doll representing her self. She wants to be "good" like the white doll (and i believe that deep down she knows she is "good") but it is the outer appearance that has dominated in today's society...and she is well aware that she has no control over this.
Once again, this is very sad, and I honestly don't know where to begin to fix this problem!
I think that our reading about the little Indian boy who was thought of as slow brings up a good example of how children may get this idea. When the little boy went to ask his mom if he could go over to his friends house to play the mother replied that it was ok for him to play with him at school but not outside of school. When I think of movies that portray the time of slavery and the few years after this is a comment that many mothers would tell their children or a variation of this. This brings in the idea that this is again something that children are taught.
Wow. I have never heard or saw anything like that before. When I was that age, we were not taught to believe in the concept of white being good and black bad. I guess because of the community I grew up in consisting of both blacks and white, I grew up believing we are all equal with the same opportunities. We have never had the racial barriers placed upon one another like that. When I was small, I liked the white baby dolls because there were more of them on the shelf. My mother would only buy me the black dolls. My father had a concept of white being bad. I could never really understand the reason because I had friends of all races and cultures. I have never saw this video before. It amazes me how these children think black is bad. I would really love to know if they were taught this by their parents or society. Whatever it is, I feel really bad they would think of the color with the assumption that black equals bad and ugly.
This video really blows my mind. I can not believe that the children of African descent shown in this video almost all preferred the white doll over the black. It's even crazier to me that they all said that the black doll was the bad one! I guess it's from the way they were raised and how they viewed their surroundings. Many of them may have come from lower-class families where the neighborhoods they lived in maybe weren't the best and the people they saw doing bad things every day were primarily those of their same color. This is the only reason I can think of right now to explain their responses. It really saddens me to see things like this. It's heartbreaking to see that children even today are unable to view themselves as equals and seem to want so bad to be considered normal that they unconsciously choose what they believe to be viewed as normal, which is the overpowering whiteness in America.
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