Australia is not the first place that would inspire one to think about the big ‘ism’ racism, is it? Certainly not the racism that we have come to know in the US. Yet, below is a short video from a young Australian comedian who offers a unique view of racism. But, let’s throw a little shade on this conversation…no pun intended! In a published interview with an African American professor who teaches on the subject of race and is bi-racial but identifies as ‘black’, she reports that the US is increasingly multi-racial which is beginning to have a curious effect on the ‘race’ conversation. For the first time in her class, more than half her class identified as bi or multi-racial and chose not to identify as one race but as bi or multiracial. The idea of race as an identity is changing in the US. Identity is just one thread of a very complex discussion on ‘race’. There is another ‘race’ conversation that is about a state of mind. This comedian brilliantly illuminates, again no pun intended, the race discussion as a state of mind. Check it out!
Fear of the Browning of America
Keep the conversation going…
Our collective thinking on this issue continues to evolve…and this 2 minute ‘chat’ makes it clear that our collective ideas about #racism as a shared experience needs to be better understood. For more short video, short film and new webisode series, please register on itsashort.com!
What's Up 
Growing up I never really thought about race- my friends were just my friends. I honestly never saw them as anything different. My children are being raised the same way. It is my sincere hope that at some point we won’t even need to have this discussion anymore and that racism will be a thing of history books alone.
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Tina,
thank you for such thoughtful comments!! And, I agree…and love the way you are raising your kids….
Christine
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Tina,
I really look forward to your newest blog posts. Here’s the link to our new post: https://itsashort.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/whats-up-shorts-win-big-at-the-oscars/
Let us know how we might follow and support your efforts! I would like to continue our dialogue and share your thoughts with our supporters.
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Living in a multi-cultural community can be very interesting because you will get to learn valuable things from other culture.
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Lesley…
Thank you! I agree, living in a multi-cultural community/world is very interesting and we are better for it. Thanks for such a wonderful comment and please don’t be a stranger!!
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Lesley,
Please check out our latest blog post: https://itsashort.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/whats-up-shorts-win-big-at-the-oscars/
and email a link to your recent post, I would like to continue our dialogue?
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Just think on how the census is going to change! More people will be checking muti-ethnic. In the end, we’re all the same. Good post!
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It’s good to hear that race issues are changing. I know growing up in the pacific northwest, I’ve had a different upbringing than some of the rest of the country. I’m thankful for that.
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Val,
Thank you for such thoughtful comment. I would like to know more about your experience, I’m sure we can all benefit from your experiences. Please share with us your newest blog post! Here’s the link to our recent blog post: https://itsashort.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/whats-up-shorts-win-big-at-the-oscars/ I hope you enjoy it!
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That’s funny! My children are a mix of two races. I’m hispanic (dark hair, eyes & skin) and their father is Irish (red hair, blue eyes, freckles and pale skin). They all look the same…but different. They have very similar features but some are dark skinned and others pale with freckles! We have encountered various degrees of racism from both sides. I’ll probably have quite an assortment of grand babies. 🙂
Race isn’t something we can control. To me, it’s all about character and integrity.
Great topic!
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I spend time in classrooms across our district administering surveys for a non-profit. One of the questions ask about ethnicity. It is fascinating to me how many children don’t identify with just one race. We are definetly evolving into a blended race society.
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I’ve always people of any size, shape, color, ethnicity, etc. It was interesting, though; my family and I experienced ‘reversed discrimination’ in Zambia, Africa. We were stunned to find out that the black Africans favored caucasians!
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I loved the video and the way comedy can bring to light serious situations
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This is always a very touchy topic. I do think things are changing & evolving very much. One day there will be a whole different view of racism as far as the multiracial community becoming more of a majority than a minority.
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I’m with Lori. God created us all in different shapes and colors along with differing intelligence and emotions. God sees us all the same, and we should also view each other as equals.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We are all humans by God’s creation and need to learn to respect each other on that basis, not on color, shade, or ethnicity.
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Growing up, we often sang this song at Sunday School….
“Jesus loves the little children | All the children of the world | Red and yellow, black and white | They are precious in His sight | Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
And I love that song and it doesn’t just work for children. Jesus loves us all, no matter what..
Thank you for sharing this.. 🙂
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Great video! I live in NYC which is just about as diverse an area as you can get and it’s always so wonderful to see the food, the shops, the people, the music, etc that come from living in a multi-racial city. I love it!
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Good video. It was refreshing to read your post!
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Love this post, I like when people love each other regardless of race, we are all equal! I love have the experience to learn different cultures. Thanks for sharing with us!
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This was so interesting! I enjoyed the video.
I’m mixed and my kids are super mixed lol so they are in the “other” category on forms.
If we stop and think about it, it is utterly ridiculous that we even bother categorizing people by race in 2014 at all.
I only see a benefit in the medical field where certain diseases are more prevalent in people with a certain ancestry but even then we’re all so mixed that I don’t know my ancestry well enough.
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Unfortunately, I have racist relatives and know that racism is still a huge problem. Being an extreme individualist, I have always resisted the concept of putting people in boxes (aka, stereotyping) of any kind, whether it be race or something else. This concept of race as a state of mind is intriguing to me.
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Interesting post. I grew up in a lower middle class melting pot and it never occurred to me to dislike or judge anyone based on anything other than how they treated me. I got that slap in the face in my 20s and to this day, it breaks my heart when experience it. I think it’s unfortunate that so many seem to be stuck on race, that we can’t seem to simply acknowledge and appreciate differences and move on, instead of using race as a weapon.
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This is a great post! I have noticed, as I have gotten older that if I can choose more than one race on a form I will. I am more than just “caucasian”. I am part American Indian. I am part Welsh. I am part Scottish. I have neighbors of all races and backgrounds. It seems so natural to me.
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The racial make-up in the US is supposed to make a huge shift towards a Latino heritage in the next 10 years. It will be interesting to see how we transform.
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I long for a world in which we never hear the term racism again. Embrace diversity, explore other cultures and appreciate our differences. Who wants to live in a world where everyone looks the same?
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Being of mixed ethnicity – these conversations come up often when talking to non-relatives. I think as humans “evolve” and become more understanding of each other, we will find the world turning more “brown.” Most of the racist or ignorant people I encounter are afraid of change because they do not know what it will bring. Hopefully in the near future, we will all be able to embrace each other’s differences and enjoy our similarities in teh same breath. Love is love!
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Great video! My kids are bi-racial. I’m Hispanic and my husband is Chinese. I’ve already been mistaken for a babysitter because my kids look Chinese. I have hope that in the future, because of all the mixing, people will get over the race issue. But for those who live in more homogeneous nations, it’s much harder.
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The concept of race is definitely changing as the worlds population mixes more and more. Hopefully this should mean that racism issues decline at the same time!
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This makes me so happy to read. I came from a very black and white background when it comes to race. It was an uphill battle when I started dating my husband who is a different race than me. I hope someday my children won’t have to experience the racism we do today.
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Good thoughts here. We live in an area with many different cultures and races around, so there’s quite a mixture. That’s what makes it so wonderful!
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Race, as an identity is changing for some folks in the states. Because of the history and institutional structures set up around race, as much as some folks want to evolve, the lived reality is that race still matters. Especially for people who say “I don’t see race, everyone is just the same.” Race as a sole identity was never really a reality – there are differences and similarities at all the cross sections of identity – ie, poor folks (of all stripes) have some similar life experiences whereas poor and homeless women of a certain age are treated differently than poor homeless men of a certain hue and age. Some of that is individualized, but a lot of it, in the States at least, is very much a part of the way that institutions have been set up to perpetuate the worst behaviors when it comes to race. The good thing is that institutions are made and carried on by individual people. So we can change the way our society impacts the lived reality of our neighbors. And ourselves.
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I find that racism is sadly everyone and by every race. I like Yolanda live in a multi-cultural community and love every bit of it. My husband and I are different races. We have four children and two took on my coloring and two took on his. We deal with racism and attitude often because of it. Even among family. This is a sad thing that the human race (pun intended) has done to one another. Not just white people either.
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Having a culturally diverse community is what makes my area so wonderful. I love that we can embrace each other as people and learn from each others’ different cultural experiences. Race should be celebrated, not hated 🙂
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Racism is such an issue that shouldn’t be an issue at all. I enjoyed reading this. My daughter is bi-racial her dad is Korean and I am well as white as can be lol
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Great read! Everyone is probably a mixed kettle if you trace far enough back in their genealogy!
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I find it refreshing that, “The idea of race as an identity is changing in the US. Identity is just one thread of a very complex discussion on ‘race’. There is another ‘race’ conversation that is about a state of mind.” I think it’s interesting we cling to a label for ourself/others so much.
My children are bi-racial, and when we were in the Philippines last year we saw a form of “reverse racism”. I am white – even when I’m “tan”, I’m white. It was assumed I was American because of my whiteness, but it was not assumed my children are American because they’re tan. Made for some funny conversations. 🙂
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I watch Canadian and American TV and often notice how multicultural (or not) the ads are. I live in an area of Canada that is more multicultural than other places in Canada and the US. My children are Eurasian so this is a topic that interests me.
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