Too often we are afraid to address race

 

Too often anymore people are afraid to address race, to point out someone's race or to say something that may be taken as a racist comment, in fear of being called a racist. In my opinion, discussing race and racism in the classroom needs to be something that is incorporated. I think that teachers are unsure of how to go about lessons and projects on race in fear of offending certain people. After Obama was elected into presidency, I think many people (white and colored) were beginning to be hopeful that times were changing and that we were entering a post-racial era. Sadly, however, this has not been completely true. In fact, people have been avoiding anything to do with race awareness overall. Looking at Obama's election art, visualizing his race has been eliminated through the use of blues and reds. He could be taken as having white skin or colored skin, depending on the perspective of the viewer. In the 21st century, many many years after slavery, you would think that we would have overcome negative connotations with discussing race but we have not. 

Teachers, especially art teachers, need to be the ones to address race. I grew up in a small, rural part of Pennsylvania surrounded by cornfields and farmers. No, there is not much multiculturalism in my hometown. If I would need to count, I graduated with about four African American kids (one who was my best friend) and about 80 Caucasian kids. There wasn't much talk about race in ANY of my classes, except maybe history. And when we talked about topics such as the Civil War or the Ku Klux Klan, it was a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere. Being completely honest and blunt, you hardly ever saw someone who wasn't white, as I am sure is a similar situation for other people who are from rural parts of Pennsylvania. Some people may think that what I just said is racist, but I would have to disagree. 

Regardless of where you are from, rural or urban, race needs to be a topic of discussion. Race is a part of our history and will continue to be a focus on how American's construct viewpoints. The only way to overcome a somewhat uncomfortable topic for some is to discuss it and learn about it. Art is such an amazing way to address issues such as these because it is open to interpretation and it stimulates learning and motivation in students. Many contemporary works of art today address issues of race and identity in art. Teachers need to find the motivation and courage to incorporate ideas of race discussion into lessons. Artists, for example Kara Walker, use art to address issues of race. I find Kara Walker's cut-out silhouettes so stimulating and deep. Without saying too much, Kara's artwork speaks enormously for the issues of race and recognizing our country's history. Below are some examples of one of Kara Walker's artwork addressing issues of slavery and race. 

      

Main website of Kara Walker- http://learn.walkerart.org/karawalker?n=Main.HomePage