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Racial Classification: Who Decides?
Identity

Historically, racial classification has been imposed on people, but new, self-formed identities can also emerge out of common group experiences and for political reasons. Identities are dynamic and constantly evolving.

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The Hispanic Color Divide
by John Moreno Gonzales
A look at a study that finds black Latinos have higher levels of education, but experience higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and lower household incomes than non-black Latinos.
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Performance of the Nation: An Interview with Angela Marino
Angela Marino, an Associate Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, and Latin/x American Studies, discusses World's Fairs, festivals and fiestas, and relates the performance of nation to different epistemes of time.
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The Story We Tell: “Civilization” Policy for Native Americans
"Thomas Jefferson, among many people, felt that the Indians were good human material, and the problem was not race, but culture. The Indians were savages but they could be civilized."
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Social Inequalities: Interview with Joanna Reed
Joanna Reed, Continuing Lecturer of Sociology at UC Berkeley, discusses how she relies on the film as a historical foundation for her students, tying it to scholarly articles and current events, and using it to introduce key sociological theories, such as Racial Formation.
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Images of the Horror of American Race Relations: Interview with Michael Mark Cohen
Michael Mark Cohen, Associate Teaching Professor of American Studies and African American Studies at UC Berkeley, discusses his use of visual imagery to teach about racial terrorism and race as socially constructed, incorporating Stephen Jay Gould's scholarship to demonstrate how whiteness was created, and how a shift away from color blindness led to the current resurgence of white nationalism amid a shrinking white demographic.
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2020 panel discussion on Race—The Power of an Illusion, Part II
On Friday, September 25 we hosted a screening of Part II of Race—The Power of an Illusion: The Story We Tell, followed by a one-hour panel discussion with experts.
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How do we dispel racist ideology?
episode 2
Q&A
Are people who are similar naturally drawn to one another?
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interview
Robin D.G. Kelley
How did early American peoples see themselves? How is race socially constructed? How is racism more than just individual prejudice and fear?

Robin D.G. Kelley is currently (2019) Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in US History at UCLA. He is also author of Race Rebels: Culture, Politics and the Black Working Class; and Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression.

interview
Beverly Daniel Tatum
Does everyone experience race the same way? How do our cultural experiences shape our perceptions of other people? How do we unknowingly recreate racism?

Beverly Daniel Tatum is currently (2019) a clinical psychologist, professor and President of Spelman College. She is an expert on race relations and author of Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, and Assimilation Blues: Black Families in a White Community.

interview
Nancy DiTomaso
How do whites feel about race, affirmative action and racial inequality? To find out, Nancy DiTomaso interviewed white people throughout the United States.

Nancy DiTomaso is currently (2019) Distinguished Professor of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School—Newark and New Brunswick

interview
Joseph Graves, Jr.
Are certain races athletically superior? How much genetic diversity is there among humans?

Joseph Graves, Jr. is currently (2019) Professor of Nanoengineering at the Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering and author of The Emperor's New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium.

interview
john a. powell
How is race socially constructed? Why can't we get rid of the concept? How do whites benefit without having to do anything? What can we do about residential segregation and inequality?

john a. powell is currently (2019) Professor of Law and African American Studies at UC Berkeley, and the Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society.

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Copyright 2018-2019, California Newsreel and Regents of the University of California. This website was jointly produced by California Newsreel, the Othering & Belonging Institute, the U.C. Berkeley Library, and the American Cultures Center at U.C. Berkeley, based on original material created by California Newsreel in 2003.