The Color of the Race Problem is White

Robert Jensen draws on W.E.B. Du Bois to discuss race and racism

Tags: du bois, inequality, multiculturalism, prejudice/discrimination, race/ethnicity, theory, colorblind racism, institutional racism, post-racial America, unconscious racism, white privilege, white supremacy, 21 to 60 mins
Year: 2009
Length: 52:39
Access: YouTube

Summary: In this lecture, Robert Jensen, author of The Heart of Whiteness, argues that the U.S. is a white supremacist society, both ideologically and materially. He begins with a passage from W.E.B. Du Bois's Souls of Black Folk where Du Bois reflects on being asked by whites how it feels to be a problem. Jensen turns this question around and argues that the problem of racism is the problem of whites. He asks instead, "For those of us who are white, how does it feel to be a problem?" This video is useful for supplementing discussions related to racism and particularly white privilege, and the clip might work well in tandem with an interview Tim Wise recently gave on the Tavis Smiley show. The actual lecture is about 28 minutes, and the remaining 24 minutes is a discussion with Jensen's students.

Submitted By: Kendra Barber

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