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Marvel's Black Panther is a cultural phenomenon, a historic box office success that's brought in rave reviews and sparked conversation all over social media and traditional media alike. There are no signs of the excitement abating, either, as the conversation about the filmhas evolved from discussions about the importance of representation into something grander: a rather groundbreaking celebration of black culture.

With an all-star collection of majority black talent both in front of and behind the camera, Black Panther, under the direction of Ryan Coogler ( Fruitvale Station, Creed), is about more than the latest superhero's journey; it's also about black culture's journey, and it points toward a future where it could be the culture. It acknowledges and celebrates everything from traditional African society to African-American political debates, from the power and beauty of black women to the preservation of identity, all within the lush confines of the fictional African nation of Wakanda.

All told, Black Panther 's greatest legacy may not be what it's done for Marvel, Hollywood, or box office records, but what it's done for the culture. In Wakanda, which offers much to marvel at for audiences of all backgrounds, black viewers in particular have found a cultural oasis that feels like nothing we've seen before.

Black Panther celebrates black culture on several fronts

Black Panther is in many ways a love letter to black culture. Africa has traditionally been an unsophisticated bit player in American media, often portrayed as backward, savage, and chaotic in everything from news coverage to films. It's a portrayal that has left little room for other interpretations, which is why Black Panther's vision of Wakanda as a bustling metropolis of vibranium-powered futuristic skyscrapers, racing trains, and soaring spaceships feels so refreshing.

Marvel movies often take place in grand, imaginative locales, like Thor's Asgard or Guardians of the Galaxy's far-flung planets. But nothing has been quite as audacious and poignant as Wakanda, a vision of Africa that feels indebted to both Jack Kirby and Octavia Butler, home to a thriving black population that represents our collective ingenuity and beauty. As a testament to black empowerment, Black Panther is an important artifact, but it's also, quite simply, a big draw for black moviegoers starved for this sort of vision.

It's not just Wakanda's skyline that makes an impact, though; the film drew on a team of designers and stylists to showcase a very specific, beautiful black aesthetic. In an interview with the New York Times, Camille Friend, who oversaw the various hair designs of what she calls "a totally Afrocentric, natural hair movie," said the entire production was considered against a backdrop of a bigger black cultural moment: "We're in a moment when people are feeling empowered about being black," she says. "The hair helps communicate that."

Like the film's hair, Black Panther's costuming was an opportunity to infuse meaning and pride into the movie. As the film's head costume designer, Ruth Carter, shared with NPR, the costumes, like Wakanda itself, needed to evoke a place and people that had "never been colonized, one that looked toward the future but was based on a real past."

Carter and her team drew on Kenyan, Namibian, and South African reference points to complete the film's array of looks, reflecting not only the tribal diversity that exists within Wakanda but the diversity of black culture and identity as well. The film is a crucial stamp of validation for black people hungry for the opportunity to celebrate everything from Afrofuturism to the natural hair movement that's often been derided in mainstream spaces.

The care and intricacy of the film's styling carried a heavy price tag, with Marvel committing more money to Black Panther than its previous few films in order to achieve a visual splendor that's as exciting to the culture as it is to the eye. The result is the sort of spectacle black moviegoers rarely get to see in popular mainstream culture. That isn't lost on Marvel's Kevin Feige, who explained his reasoning behind the film's budget to Vulture: "It's a big story that deserves to be told in a big way, for all of the cultural and political reasons that people talk about."

These vague "cultural and political reasons" are at the heart of a movie phenomenon that's inspired everything from Black Panther-themed watch parties to a voter registration initiative to a curriculum that encourages educators to leverage the film to teach deeper histories about African culture, politics, and history. It's also opened up dialogues and personal reflections about black identity in America and abroad via #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe, a powerful cross section of editorial and real-time reflections on the film's resonance with black moviegoers.

The film has also jumped into the current of black political thought and action, prompting challenging think pieces about how T'Challa and Killmonger's rift is representative of familiar ideological debates in the black community, and what the film's politics represent about the state of black America. In addition to escapism and inspiration, Black Panther offers African Americans the opportunity to reexamine and reimagine their place in the world, both literally and figuratively. Wakanda has emerged as a vision of what's possible, representing what true liberation could look like, but the power of that fantasy is directly linked to the harsh realities of Erik Killmonger's experience growing up in Oakland, California, far away from that utopic vision.

Black Panther is part of a wave of entertainment that's expanding the scope of black narratives

The excitement around Black Panther doesn't exist in a vacuum; the film is the latest in a string of high-water-mark moments for a black pop culture landscape that's experiencing a renaissance. Recent years have seen a new level of black art that's intertwined sociopolitical commentary with high-caliber artistry: from Beyoncé's Lemonade and Kendrick Lamar's DAMN to Atlanta and Queen Sugar, there's been a renewed focus on telling stories that broaden and sharpen the range of black narratives.

This expansion is significant given black audiences' complex relationship with Hollywood, which has typically presented a narrow slice of the African-American narrative. It's an industry that has often seemed invested in black Americans primarily as slaves ( 12 Years a Slave), victims of inner-city strife ( Detroit), or symbols of comfort ( The Help) and is fixated on stories about the post-Reconstruction and civil rights erasandbiopics of famous black people that only glimpse at race.

For a long time, it's felt like the only stories about the African-American experience Hollywood was interested in telling were stories that were intertwined in some way with the white experience, making this shift toward stories that center black narratives as black narratives feel both welcome and long overdue.

A similar shift has been afoot in Hollywood offscreen in recent years. As #OscarsSoWhite launched a debate about the industry's fidelity to representation and valuing nonwhite contributions, filmmakers like Moonlight's Barry Jenkins, A Wrinkle in Time's Ava DuVernay, and Get Out's Jordan Peele have taken crucial pole positions as visionaries who are pushing the boundaries of black representation on film. Coogler's Black Panther joins these projects as a missing piece: a popcorn movie that uses the most mainstream of film genres - the superhero movie - to project the complexity of black identity, politics, and creativity.

Black Panther is in many ways an antidote to the black American experience in 2018

The renewed conversation around race that Black Panther enters into extends beyond the entertainment industry. As the first black superhero film in a cinematic universe that's spent the past decade focused primarily on white superheroes, it underlines the chasm that exists between society's treatment of black Americans and white Americans.

In many ways, black bodies have experienced a renewed series of attacks in recent years. Black NFL players can't kneel in protest without recrimination from the president, team owners, or a conservative-leaning fan base. Everyday black citizens have been increasingly displaced in gentrifying cities, locked up in prisons at alarming rates, and shot and beaten by law enforcement at equally high ones.

This makes Black Panther a palate cleanser of sorts, a healthy injection of powerful, beautiful images of the black body. It's what's behind the lure of Wakanda, a land of black vibrancy, freedom, diversity, and discourse not blighted by outside forces or forced to negotiate with anyone but themselves. It's why the Killmonger/T'Challa chasm rings so true, as they both offer their own type of wish fulfillment for black viewers: Wouldn't it be nice to have a world where we aren't encumbered by systemic racism and oppression and are masters of our own destiny? And yet wouldn't it also be nice to galvanize a community with resources and political might to address and maybe even reverse the effects of that systemic oppression?

Told from a posture of power and pride, Black Panther is in many ways a most necessary antidote for the black American experience in 2018, an elixir that provides escape into a world where black Americans can imagine these conversations outside of the white gaze. As black America feels under assault everywhere from Charlottesville to the White House, it's invaluable to be reminded that we still have the ability to soar and take action like T'Challa or Nakia or Okoye, to be strong black bodies of justice. The value of that reminder is not just timely - it's timeless.

For more on Black Panther, listen to our episode of Today Explained featuring Rise of the Black Panther author Evan Narcisse.

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Black Panther is a gorgeous, groundbreaking celebration of black culture

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Marvel's Black Panther is a cultural phenomenon, a historic box office success that's brought in rave reviews and sparked conversation all over social media and traditional media alike. There are no signs of the excitement abating, either, as the conversation about the filmhas evolved from discussions about the importance of representation into something grander: a rather groundbreaking celebration of black culture.

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You can see in this chart how many out of school suspensions students receive based on their race. Clearly this is disproportionate when you look at the out of school suspensions compared to the white race.

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Disney movies while being loved and adored have historically included some racist moments. Whether intentional or just a potential aspect of ignorance, whether it's from the casting or animation, there's been countless examples of Disney animated films being racist.

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10 Painfully Racist Moments In Disney Movies They Want You To Forget

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Disney movies are historically known that there are certain

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10 Painfully Racist Moments In Disney Movies They Want You To Forget

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In the Harry Potter book and movie series, Hermione Granger is a "mud-blood" born to two dentists. She already faced a lot of backlash and bullying for her status from the other characters from the movies and books. However, when it was announced that a black woman would play Hermione in the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, there was definitely a racist pushback against it.

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Hermione Granger isn't new to prejudice. As the wizard child of Muggle dentists, she came in for plenty of "Mudblood" taunts and other epithets in the Harry Potter books.

And it came as no surprise to Potter author J.K. Rowling that not everyone loved it when black actress Noma Dumezweni was cast as Hermione in the two-part play " Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," which begins previews Tuesday.

"With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot," Rowling told The Guardian in an article published Sunday. "That's the way the world is."

And Rowling stands behind the casting. "Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job," she said. "When [director] John [Tiffany] told me he'd cast her, I said, 'Oh, that's fabulous' because I'd seen her in a workshop and she was fabulous."

The author reiterated in the interview what she's pointed out before: Hermione's skin color was never mentioned in the books, even though some readers have debated even the most minuscule mentions of the character's appearance for signs that might identify her race.

"I had a bunch of racists telling me that because Hermione 'turned white' -- that is, lost color from her face after a shock -- that she must be a white woman, which I have a great deal of difficulty with," Rowling said. "But I decided not to get too agitated about it and simply state quite firmly that Hermione can be a black woman with my absolute blessing and enthusiasm."

It's not the only recent debate over the race of a fictional character. Discussion of the next actor to play James Bond has suggested crossing not only racial lines, possibly casting "Luther" and "The Wire" star Idris Elba, but also gender lines, as "X-Files" star Gillian Anderson has publicly played with the idea. And the reboot of the " Ghostbusters" film with all women in the lead roles has also caused controversy.

Rowling herself has faced a similar reaction before when she revealed that Hogwarts' headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay, noting that " if Harry Potter taught us anything, it's that no one should live in a closet."

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," which introduces audiences to the children of the original Potter main characters, begins previews at London's Palace Theatre on Tuesday. It officially opens July 30. With the first preview hours away, Rowling has released a 30-second video urging fans who see the show to keep its secrets and not spoil the plot for other fans.

She's already let slip that fans should be prepared for tears, but then no one expected The Boy Who Lived to just sail off into a quiet middle age.

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J.K. Rowling on the reaction to a black Hermione: 'Idiots were going to idiot'

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Hermione Granger isn't new to prejudice. As the wizard child of Muggle dentists, she came in for plenty of "Mudblood" taunts and other epithets in the Harry Potter books. And it came as no surprise to Potter author J.K.

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"In 2014, it was reported that nearly 73% of lead roles in Hollywood films went to white actors. Only 33 films that year had actors of color in starring or co-starring roles." This article gives statistics and data that is even more disappointing than you would think.

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Here at Geeks of Color, we are committed to representing diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry and want to see every facet of that inclusion, both on screen and off. We've already told you about the difference between whitewashing and race-bending. Now, a different discussion is emerging. With a flurry of new opportunities for talent of color, people are beginning to wonder if creating original roles for people of color is preferable to "race-bending", or taking an originally white role and giving it to an actor of color. The idea that "race-bending" is trying to insert people of color into white spaces is dated and frankly tired, and here I am going to explain why.

First, I'm going to give three examples of popular characters who were originally white in their source material but are played by actors of color in adaptations. The first example, and possibly the most noteworthy, is Aquaman. Jason Momoa will play the character in his upcoming solo film at the end of 2018, which most of us are eagerly anticipating. Momoa is Native Hawaiian, making him the first Native Hawaiian superhero in a major blockbuster. Aquaman has always been drawn in the comics as blond-haired and blue-eyed, but Batman v Superman and Justice League director Zack Snyder made the choice to cast Jason Momoa regardless of his race.

The second example is the controversial casting of Atlanta actress Zazie Beetz in the role of Domino. In the comics, Domino is portrayed as a character with porcelain white skin and a black patch over her right eye. In the film, they've reversed that effect- her skin is black, and her patch is white. Fans of the character were angry over this change, saying that it's "inaccurate" to the way she has long been portrayed in the comics. You can catch Zazie in the upcoming Deadpool 2 film, which slices its way into theaters on May 18.

The third and final example I'm going to give here is the casting of Will Smith in the role of Deadshot, an assassin and killer, in DC's Suicide Squad film in summer 2016. Deadshot is also a character who has been consistently portrayed as Caucasian in the comics (he's still portrayed that way in some forms, which is a bit strange to me). He's got style, swagger, and he kills expertly. In other words, it's a role that was pretty much written for Will Smith.

In all these cases, major studios took major characters for their upcoming tentpole superhero blockbusters and race-bended them, casting actors of color for the roles. Why? In most cases, the reasoning was that these actors were simply the best for the roles. And that may very well be the case. But in the past, actors of color wouldn't have even had a chance to audition for the roles in the first place; the only roles they would get would be background or supporting if they were lucky.

There is still a big disparity between white actors and actors of color in Hollywood. In 2014, it was reported that nearly 73% of lead roles in Hollywood films went to white actors. Only 33 films that year had actors of color in starring or co-starring roles. And the numbers for directors of color are even worse. Some may argue that this simply reflects the makeup of the country, but more and more people of color are coming to the States every day. By 2050, nearly half the country will be at least biracial or descended from a person of color. If that is the case, why is it so difficult to cast a person of color in a leading role - especially roles that are not required to be any specific race?

Take James Bond. Over the course of fifty-six years, there have been twenty-four films about the British suave spy. And every actor who's put on the tux and portrayed 007 has been white. When you look at the Bond role, is there anything that specifically calls for a Caucasian actor? He's a spy. He kicks butt. He has money, and he means business. All traits that I could easily see Idris Elba, Benicio del Toro or Donnie Yen taking on with no problem. Yet every time the Internet suggests a non-white actor as Bond, they're treated as if it would be some great sacrilege in the name of the character.

Also, take Spider-Man. Back in 2010, Donald Glover campaigned hardcore to play the webslinger. He was rewarded with not only a role in Sony's Spider-Man Homecoming as Aaron Davis, but with a character inspired by him-Miles Morales, who is set to make his big-screen debut in Sony's animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse this December. Glover's argument was that the only reason he couldn't be Spider-Man and don the spandex is because he was black. And when you think about it-there's really nothing in the character of Spider-Man that calls for a white actor.

In situations where the race is important to the character, you need to cast people of specific races and backgrounds in the roles. For example, you wouldn't want a white actor playing Martin Luther King or Michael Jackson (I'm looking at you, UK TV) because those are two noteworthy African-American men who really existed. You also wouldn't want a Black actor playing Thomas Jefferson or George Bush, because it wouldn't make much sense-not only because of the racism of the time period but because those men both lived and were white.

Or with fictional characters: if your story is set in Africa, you're likely going to have a largely Black cast (which is why Black Panther does). Or if you're telling a story about racism in the projects of Chicago, having a white protagonist wouldn't make much sense (unless you're going to tell the story from the perspective of the racist). If you need a story about Mexico, more than likely your characters will be Mexican, and so on.

But if there is no precedent or bearing for your character to be any specific race, creators can have the freedom to cast whoever they want in the roles. And since white actors are dominating in Hollywood so much and can easily find another role if they're turned down, why not give an actor of color an opportunity that they wouldn't have had otherwise?

A brilliant example of this is A Wrinkle in Time, Ava's upcoming fantasy film. Meg Murry, the film's protagonist, is Black. She could've been Asian or Latina or Native American, though, and the story would've progressed exactly as it does. Her race has no immediate bearing on the events of the story, and the timeline would not be altered by changing it.

In Black Panther, however, if T'Challa was white, the story of an African king wouldn't make sense or feel authentic. Seeing Wakanda and Africa at large as it truly is makes the story feel more real, and isn't that the goal with all art forms-for the characters to feel like they could leap out of the screen and start a conversation with you?

White Hollywood seems to feel that stories about people of color are specific to that group, not universal. White is the default; Black is the minority. For some reason, even though it's been proven that diverse films do better at the box office, they seem to be under the impression that a white moviegoer can't enjoy and engage with a story about a Black protagonist, that has nothing to do with their Blackness. And that notion is utterly ridiculous.

It's about time we stopped splitting hairs and focused on the real issue-that people of color are seen as subcategories, and their stories are supposed to only matter to other people of color. By racebending roles, we are allowing representation on a large scale that transcends race and shows that in the situation at hand, anyone can be the protagonist.

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Why Race-bending Characters Is Important - Geeks Of Color

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Here at Geeks of Color, we are committed to representing diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry and want to see every facet of that inclusion, both on screen and off. We've already told you about the difference between whitewashing and race-bending. Now, a different discussion is emerging.

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The beloved animated series Avatar the Last Airbender's cast is of Asian diversity, however when the live action remake movie was released all of the characters were confusedly white. It did not make any sense to many devoted fans of the series, and there was a bit of an uproar in opposition to it. This article explains the frustrations and upset directed towards the movie.

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Look, I love white people. Some of my best friends are white. But that doesn't mean that I want to see white people in every movie, particularly if they don't belong there. Like in The Last Airbender, which is based on a cartoon in which the characters are clearly from Inuit- and Asian-flavored cultures and yet, when we come to finished film, we find that almost everyone is Caucasian... except the villains, who are played by dark-skinned actors of Indian and Maori descent.

Shyamalan tells Sci Fi Wire:

Anime is based on ambiguous facial features. It's part of the art form. You got a problem with that? Talk to the dudes who invented anime. It's not my issue, OK? That girl [Katara] looks like my daughter. That boy [Aang] looks like Noah [Ringer]. There is no Inuit that looks like Katara. It's not true. It's just not true. She looks like my daughter. My daughter is a dupe of Katara. Our family saw ourselves in it. A Hispanic family saw themselves in it. My daughter's best friend is Hispanic. She saw it, and their whole family thinks they're all Hispanic, and that's true. That's the beauty of anime, [that] we all see ourselves as incredibly ambiguous and diverse. I wanted to be diverse. I wanted to be more diverse. I had to [build upon] whoever came in, the cultures that came in. This wasn't an agenda for me. It was just very open to me.

He's right, of course, about the anime original:

The characters are ethnically ambiguous in their facial features. But not in their surroundings. We can take cues from their cultures about what they would look like if they weren't anime-style drawings. You don't have to know a damn thing about Avatar: The Last Airbender, the source material, to intuit from this image that the two characters on the left are from an Inuit-influenced culture and that the two rightmost characters are from Asian-influenced cultures.

Shyamalan tells the Orlando Sentinel:

We wanted the Asian cultures - Indian, Thai, whatever - to be influencing the feeling and look of the movie. But it's myth. So a building couldn't look like a pagoda. A temple couldn't look like Angkor Wat. Visually, and in terms of language and actors, it couldn't be specific. I didn't want people to know where we were in the world. I wanted this world to be to Asia what Medieval Europe was to Lord of the Rings.

That's an excellent analogy, in fact. The vaguely medieval fantasy alt-Europe that is Middle Earth is populated, in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, with white actors of European extraction, as we might expect. And Shyamalan's Last Airbender fantasy alt-Asia is populated by Asian actors, right?

Nope:

It cannot be coincidence that where Shyamalan saw ambiguity, he translated it into "white folk"... except for the bad-guy Fire Nation people, who are dark-skinned. It cannot be a coincidence because this is what Hollywood has almost always done: used white skin as shorthand for goodness and dark skin - or anyone non-Caucasian - as shorthand for badness. And it doesn't matter what color Shyamalan's skin is, because he is working within Hollywood's dictates. It's very easy to imagine that he would have had a helluva time convincing the Hollywood executives who financed his movie to let him cast Asian and Inuit or Native actors in sympathetic protagonist roles... assuming he even bothered to try. With his recent track record of critical and box office flops, it seems unlikely that he would have pressed his luck.

Oh, and about Dev Patel's Prince Zuko being a villain? Shyamalan tells Rediff Movies:

The main characters of the film are Noah (Ringer as Aang) and Dev (Patel as Prince Zuko) and they are the heroes of the series.

Dev is on a darker journey that ends very heroic. He is the Shakespearean Hamlet character. And the Uncle Iroh who is basically the Yoda, the Obi-Wan Kenobi character is played by Shaun Toub. These are the most beloved characters in the series.

If this is true, if Zuko is meant to be a hero and Iroh is meant to be a beloved old philosopher warrior, someone should have told Shyamalan's screenwriter that, because there is absolutely no hint of anything remotely like that in the film.

Oh, but wait: Shyamalan wrote the script. It's his fault there's nothing heroic or beloved-ering about Zuko.

And try as he might, he's not gonna dig his way out of accusations of whitewashing his film. It's too blatant, too obvious, too disappointing to be explained away.

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wtf: M. Night Shyamalan on why the whitewashing of 'The Last Airbender' totally isn't racist | FlickFilosopher.com

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Look, I love white people. Some of my best friends are white. But that doesn't mean that I want to see white people in every movie, particularly if they don't belong there. Like in The Last Airbender, which is based on a cartoon in which the characters are clearly from Inuit- and Asian-flavored cultures and [...]

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The First Black Princess in the Disney World is Princess Tiana, and many were excited to see a Black woman be on the big screen for their young children to see. However, many were disappointed in the outcome and believed she was wrongfully represented in the film. This article goes into detail as to why and what Disney could have done better.

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Disney's new leading lady has a big job: Tiana is the first Black princess the fairy tale imagineers has ever featured. Viewers and critics alike want to make sure that "The Princess and the Frog" represents Black people in the best possible light.

When Disney announced that it would make a film with a Black heroine, we said, "Yay!! It's about time." Since then, some of the company's decisions regarding Princess Tiana have been called into question and some minor tweaks and changes needed to be made.

Concerns were voiced over the princess's original name, Maddy-which was thought to be an unlikely name for a Black woman-as well as her occupation, as a maid for a white family. To appease its customers, Disney changed her name to Tiana and placed her in the kitchen as the family's chef. Now that's what we call affirmative action.

There were still complaints over Princess Tiana's love interest: The frog prince is not Black. Truth be told, throughout much of the movie he and his fair lady are frogs. He has a Middle Eastern name, Naveen, is voiced by a Brazilian actor, Bruno Campos, and comes from a made up place, Maldonia. Critics have cried, "What's wrong with a Black prince?," while others rebut, "What's wrong with portraying multi-racial love?"

Other questions have been raised about why the 2-D cartoon movie is set in New Orleans, a place where many African-Americans were displaced due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, as well as the racial implications that the use of voodoo in the film may raise. However, as the first Disney cartoon musical since "Hercules," the legendary city that birthed Jazz seems a likely setting for a fairy tale, and the use of magic in Disney stories is almost customary (see "Aladdin" and "Sword and the Stone").

While Disney animated films often draw controversy-remember the phallic symbol on the VHS box cover of "The Little Mermaid", the Jessica Rabbit scandal of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and the claims of subliminal messages in "The Lion King"-they typically tend to bring home a family-friendly message.

"The Princess and the Frog" is the stoy of a beautiful girl who kisses a prince who's been turned into a frog only to turn into a frog herself. It presents themes about believing love even in tough circumstances, the struggle of moving up from one's social standing, and the idea of beauty being skin deep. These are all great lessons to be taught by Disney's first Black Princess. Most creative ideas face challenges and criticism.

Read Demetria Lucas' review of 'The Princess and the Frog'.

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Controversy Over 'The Princess and the Frog'

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Disney's first animated film to feature a Black princess, 'The Princess and the Frog,' opened in select theaters on Wednesday, November 25. While everyone is excited to watch Princess Tiana's love story on the big screen in signature Disney 2-D style, some folks are picking bones with the movie's non-Black prince, voodoo references and the depiction of Jazz-era New Orleans.

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Tying together Miles Morales and The Marvel Cinematic Universe and Nick Fury with race-bending is something that I never expected. I have watched all the Marvel movies multiple times, and would consider myself a decent fan. However, I only knew Nick Fury as a powerful Black man in charge of the Avengers and running SHIELD. Recently though, I found out in the original comics he was written as a white man. It only was race-bent about 20 years ago when the writers decided to base Nick Fury off of Samuel L. Jackson in the Marvel Ultimate series. After that, the actual Samuel L. Jackson was cast as Nick Fury to make a cameo at the end of Iron Man, and being a main character ever since. To my knowledge there was not much opposition because it was the beginning of the Cinematic Universe, and many people did not know any better. Thankfully for that, many see the current Nick Fury is the only Nick Fury that millions of people know and love.

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Schools are known to follow the Eurocentracized western canon in their classrooms which is not only outdated, but also extremely racist at times. Instead of using novels that promote racism and white supremacy, as mentioned in Worlds and Miller's piece, here are 22 book choices for each grade level that include varying degrees of diversity. From race to gender to sexuality, these books are guaranteed to open students' eyes to the real world around them.

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In a vibrant, multicultural society, representing the richness of students' lives in a class or school library takes a conscious effort. Including writers and fictional characters with a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and life circumstances is a way to increase the chances that students will find, to use the metaphor that Rudine Sims Bishop popularized, both windows and mirrors in the library-books that reflect their lives, and ones that give them insight into the lives and experiences of people who aren't like them.

No book shelf is going to represent the fullness of this nation. From the descendants of people who arrived here more than 15,000 years ago to the newest immigrants, we're simply too much. But the inclusive set of books below-many of which were recommended by multiple teachers-span all grade and Lexile levels up to 1140L, and include award winners and best sellers, books that have stood the test of time and newer options. We hope they reflect human diversity in the broadest sense, addressing race and ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, and other special circumstances.

Grades pre-K to 2

Deena Misses Her Mom
Deena is a formerly well-behaved girl who has been lashing out in school ever since her mom was sent to jail. Deena's story-sensitively illustrated by Leslie Jindalay Pyo-was written by high school students Jonae Haynesworth, Jesse Holmes, Layonnie Jones, and Kahliya Ruffin to reflect the lives of the children they were tutoring in Washington, DC. Parental imprisonment is a shockingly common occurrence in America: More than 5 million children in the U.S. have had at least one parent in jail.

Grades 3 to 5

Grades 6 to 8

The Arrival
A sepia-toned marvel, The Arrival conveys in images-there is no dialogue-a man's journey from his troubled home country to a new one. Artist Shaun Tan places the reader in the immigrant's shoes by using an invented alphabet on the signs in the strange new world he enters-the language is as impenetrable to the reader as it is to the protagonist.

Ghost
A National Book Award finalist, Jason Reynolds's Ghost is the story of an African American middle school runner with the talent to qualify for the Junior Olympics-if he can learn to control his temper. Money is tight and his father is in jail, and Ghost has been having a lot of what he calls "altercations." This is the first in a series of books about the members of a track team.

George
George is a transgender fourth grader who wants to try out for the lead role in the school production of Charlotte's Web so that her mother will see her as a girl. Alex Gino presents George's struggles with both bullying and the painful reassurance that she will "turn into a fine young man." George won a Stonewall Book Award-and made the American Library Association's 10 Most Challenged Books list in 2016 and 2017.

Grades 9 to 12

Bless Me, Ultima
A classic of Latino literature, Rudolfo Anaya's coming-of-age tale is an exploration of faith-Antonio, the young protagonist, makes his First Communion in the Catholic Church but also finds a spiritual guide in Ultima, an elderly curandera, or healer, who helps him explore indigenous traditions of New Mexico.

The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas's debut novel was a sensation when it was published in 2017, remaining on The New York Times best-seller list for 50 weeks. It centers on the killing of an unarmed black teen by a white police officer, a shooting witnessed by 16-year-old Starr, whose days are split between her black neighborhood and mostly white suburban school. The killing of her friend Khalil drives those two worlds farther apart than ever.

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22 Diverse Book Choices for All Grade Levels

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Suggestions from teachers who are working to offer students at every grade level book choices that represent their lives.

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Barbie is a staple in most young girls lives. In today's day and age, the creators have begun making vlogs where Barbie talks about serious issues with her friends, making it socially acceptable to talk about difficult issues. By using their social platform, the creators are teaching their young viewers to speak up and speak out.

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@Barbie | Barbie and Nikki Discuss Racism | Barbie Vlogs

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This article discusses the importance of representation in Superhero pop culture, just like the racebending of Miles Morales in Spiderman. It is especially important when it comes to the American foster system since they have a disproportionate amount of black kids. Spiderman isn't mentioned in this article but many other superhero movies are, giving great resources to use for the argument of representation being needed in pop culture.

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It goes without saying that diversity in pop culture is imperative, a notion that Hollywood has only begun to take seriously as of late. It's especially important for kids in the foster care system to see themselves represented in superhero pop culture; in figures that are represented as heroes of society, as purveyors of a just civilization, as cherished idols of the community. Our goal is for all children to be able to see themselves as potential superheroes, something we celebrate annually at our CASA Superhero Run.

Children of color are overrepresented in the foster care system, and often spend more time in the system than their white peers. When children of color are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system, having the opportunity to see themselves in popular superheroes can instill a sense of purpose and belonging. A child can watch Black Pantherand its celebration of African culture and realize that their heritage is an identity to embrace proudly. They can see Wonder Womanand learn that power and strength isn't gender-discriminatory. A child can turn on Cloak and Dagger and realize they can overcome trauma and be an arbiter for change in a society that's historically put them at a disadvantage for the color of their skin.

Here's a roundup of recent superhero movies, TV shows and specific characters celebrating diversity and representation:

"Marvel movies often take place in grand, imaginative locales, like Thor's Asgard or Guardians of the Galaxy's far-flung planets. But nothing has been quite as audacious and poignant as Wakanda...home to a thriving black population that represents our collective ingenuity and beauty. As a testament to black empowerment, Black Panther is an important artifact, but it's also, quite simply, a big draw for black moviegoers starved for this sort of vision." (via Vox)

Domino (Deadpool 2)

"When a woman chooses to wear her hair in its natural state, it's a statement that she's taking ownership of her roots and history, and that she's not changing her looks to meet a racist societal standard about what's deemed attractive or professional. Every day I pik out my hair, I feel more empowered and at peace with who I am as a Black woman, and I take strength from others, like [Domino], who do the same. Watching her in Deadpool 2, a major Hollywood movie seen by millions of people, I get the fuel I need to feel confident and beautiful in my own appearance." (via Bustle)

*Due to the R-Rated nature of this film, we'll let you look up your own preview video!

"Marvel's Runaways has always been more inclusive than your average superhero comic. With a team filled with diverse young heroes-whether it's group leader Alex Wilder or resident sorcerer Nico Minoru-the group has always been more than your usual whitewashed male centric hero team-up. When it came to the show, the creative team ramped that up even more, casting Latinx actors to play both Gert and Molly, upping the diversity and making Runaways one of the most inclusive superhero shows on television." (via Nerdist)

"Cloak & Dagger has a Black male lead who, thankfully doesn't shy away from his Blackness. Viewers will see Tyrone navigate being Black in America, superpowers or not. Joseph does a stellar job showing Tyrone's angst.

'I think it's going to be great for people to really dive into a young Black individual, to see his hopes and to see his dreams and see what he's going through,' Joseph told EBONY."

"Cage's heroism is symbolized by the bullet-riddled hoodie, which represents Trayvon Martin and the Black Lives Matter movement. An indestructible Black man becomes the face of resistance, and the season delves deeper into what it means to be a Black hero. Unlike the other superhero series on Netflix, such as Iron Fist, Jessica Jones or Daredevil, Cage's heroism is intertwined with the struggles of his race. He has to deal with social media, fame, gentrification and how to make money while sacrificing for the greater good of Harlem." Via EBONY.

The CASA Superhero Runis just around the corner on Sunday, September 16! This year, we're encouraging you to help us bring diverse superheroes to the run. Use these lists of some Latino, African American, LGBTand Asian superheroes as inspiration for your costume this year.

July Culture & Diversity CASA Superhero Run 2018

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Daring to be Diverse: Why Representation in Superhero Pop Culture Matters

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It goes without saying that diversity in pop culture is imperative, a notion that Hollywood has only begun to take seriously as of late. It's especially important for kids in the foster care system to see themselves represented in superhero pop culture; in figures that are represented as heroes of society, as purveyors of a just civilization, as cherished idols of the community.

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I know that someone else has already posted about the Halle Bailey controversy but I feel like this one also needs to be shown. Disney had a TV show for The Little Mermaid in the 1990's which included a mermaid named Gabriella, a black and deaf character. " She was introduced into "The Little Mermaid" so kid could relate to a character of color and for deaf children to see themselves represented onscreen," (Matadeen, 2019). Worlds and Miller talk about how important it is to have minorities shown in media today because of how kids want to see themselves represented and this is a perfect example of not only the black community but also the disabled community being represented.

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Disney has received some racist backlash after Halle Bailey was announced as Ariel in the upcoming live-action "Little Mermaid" movie.

Some fans of the original have tried to prove that Ariel, whose story was based on a Danish fairy tale, cannot be a black woman.

Although Ariel's skin color has nothing to do with the story or its themes, it's worth noting that non-white mermaids have been part of the Disney canon for nearly three decades.

Gabriella was a black and deaf mermaid in "The Little Mermaid" TV series, which aired from 1992 to 1994 on CBS.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

The backlash to the casting of an African-American actress, Halle Bailey, as Ariel in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid, and led to the hashtag #NotMyAriel trending on Twitter. The protagonist of the 1989 animated classic was, of course, a Caucasian mermaid whose red hair, along with her fish tail, was a signature trait.

Amid the protests that Disney was ruining their childhoods was the insistence the live-action reimagining remain faithful to the 1989 original, itself loosely based on the Danish fairy tale (which didn't include a singing crab, for starters). Although Ariel's skin color has nothing to do with the story of "The Little Mermaid," or its themes, it's certainly worth noting that non-white mermaids have been part of the Disney canon for nearly three decades.
Read more: People are trying to prove that Ariel can't be black, and Disney put them in their place
We're, of course, referring to Gabriella, the earnest mermaid in The Little Mermaid television series who was inspired by Ariel, and who aspired to be just as great a singer. She looked up to Ariel, not only as a role model, but as a big sister over the course of series, which aired from 1992 to 1994 on CBS. What made Gabriella all the more special is that she was deaf; she communicated using sign language, with Ollie the Octopus helping translate her messages.

Atlantica's mermaids didn't all look the same. Clearly, Disney didn't envision them with a single skin color or ethnicity in mind; the studio had a global outlook. And make no mistake, Gabriella could have even been European, because Europeans aren't only white.

With that said, what's the hubbub about Ariel being black? We haven't seen a photo to lambast, as we did when the first image of Will Smith's Genie was released for "Aladdin," and we don't even know if Bailey will wear a wig or dye her hair. But what's for sure is neither her hair nor her skin color should define her.

Gabriella herself was based on a young fan who passed away during the series' first season. She was introduced into "The Little Mermaid" so kid could relate to a character of color and for deaf children to see themselves represented onscreen. Her presence alone would seem to render moot the feeble arguments about the property's Danish roots, as Disney long ago established the existence of non-white mermaids in its fictional world. For that matter, Ariel herself could just have easily been of Hispanic or Asian heritage. Even the original actress, Jodi Benson, has supported the notion of a non-white Ariel, contending it's all about the character, and the magic inside.

The point is, Bailey was hired because her spirit and talents fit what Disney wants to do with Ariel in this live-action adaptation, made all the more logical because the actress is a skilled singer. We live in an era in which major studios, like Disney, seek to provide greater representation of people of color onscreen, after decades of characters, in animation and in live-action, being overwhelmingly white.

As such, a mermaid who looks like Gabriella doesn't diminish or erase what came before. It simply presents a new take on an established character (that is, Ariel), for contemporary audiences.

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Disney actually had black mermaids 30 years ago, way before Halle Bailey's controversial casting as Ariel

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Disney has received some racist backlash after Halle Bailey was announced as Ariel in the upcoming live-action "Little Mermaid" movie. Some fans of the original have tried to prove that Ariel, whose story was based on a Danish fairy tale, cannot be a black woman.

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When you ask people about the classic character "Annie", most will tell you that she is a loveable redheaded orphan because that is what they have always known. Today, a lot of younger kids recognize Annie as being black because of the 2014 remake. This remake sparked a lot of anger in many people because they saw it as being incorrect. This scenario is exactly the same as what happened when people realized that Hollywood was going to change the classic white Spiderman to a young black kid named Miles. There is nothing wrong with diversifying the western canon that everyone has grown up with. Why does racebending spark such outrage? Two words: unconscious racism.

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This image is from an article where an artist reimagines Disney princesses as different ethnicities. The artist took all of the princesses and reimagined them as an ethnicity not yet portrayed by Disney, which is a broad arena. It is beautiful to see the details of the different ethnicities in a Disney style.

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This video shows how representation matters in media. There are many voices included in this video, bu one struck me in particular. One man said that representation matter on screen, but also behind the camera. I feel like this correlates with the the Worlds and Miller article because just like it is important to have diverse writers writing diverse books, it is important for diverse film makers to create diverse films.

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This article lists 20 of the worst examples of Hollywood whitewashing. The example that particularly struck me was Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's. This has been one of my favorite movies since I was a kid and even then Rooney's portrayal felt wrong to me. This shows how there are even more implications of casting a white actor in a role that should go to a person of a different ethnicity.

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The 20 Worst Examples Of Hollywood Whitewashing

To a general rolling of eyes and shrugging of shoulders, Alex Proyas' "Gods of Egypt" beats its big silly golden CG wings into theaters this week. Aside from the fact that it looks... not very good, the film has stirred up what little interest it has mostly due to the casting of Gerard Butler, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites and a host of other white actors as Egyptian deities and demigods. Among all of them, Chadwick Boseman's presence seems at best token and at worst heartbreaking, because he deserves a lot better than "Gods of Egypt." In any case, coupled with the #oscarssowhite snafu continuing to unfold, John Oliver recently picked up on the mutinous mood with to regards to Hollywood's practice of whitewashing.

There are a few different degrees of Hollywood whitewash: the mildest, probably because it's the most invisible, involves the ethnicity of a character changing before filming has even begun, so that a white actor can play the role as a white person. Most of the individuals involved in the casino scam that " 21" was based on, for example, were Asian, but in the film they're white from the outset. William Mapother was for some reason cast as a character in " World Trade Center " whose real-life counterpart is black.

The second, more problematic degree is when a white actor is cast in a non-white role that has not been explicitly rewritten as white. So arguably both Ben Affleck and Clea DuVall in " Argo" are guilty here (the CIA officer Affleck's character is based on is half-Mexican, DuVall's is Japanese-American), as is Emma Stone's part in " Aloha," (although the latter's invisible Asian heritage seems like a really inconsequential detail that could easily have been removed from the character with no major harm done). But hey, at least they didn't slant her eyes!

Which brings us third-degree whitewashing, in which a white actor plays a non-white role and undergoes an indefensible physical transformation to do so. The racism of blackface, brownface, yellowface, altering eye shape and hair type, exaggerating accents and gestures and appropriating cultural signifiers along stereotypical ethnic lines has a long, unhappy tradition in Hollywood cinema. So most of the examples below come from this category -if you dare, explore these 20 instances of variously egregious Hollywood whitewashing. Get ready to cringe.

John Wayne as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror" (1956)
Now notorious as a film that allegedly gave many of its participants cancer (it was shot on a site irradiated by nuclear test fallout) and that was suppressed by producer Howard Hughes for decades after its release, famous flop "The Conqueror" features perhaps the most egregious miscasting in history, in which drawling cowboy archetype John Wayne lobbied for, and won, the role of the Mongol warlord. Even at the time, he looked absolutely ridiculous.
What They Said At The Time: "An illusion persists that this Genghis Khan is merely Hopalong Cassidy in Cathay... [Wayne is] constantly being unhorsed by such lines as, 'you are beautiful in your wrath.'" [ NYT]

Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl in "A Mighty Heart" (2007)
It's a shame that perhaps Jolie's single best performance, as the wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl in this Michael Winterbottom rendition of the infamous mid 2000s incident, should be marred by the specter of whitewashing. To be fair, finding an actress of the precise ethnic mix as the French-born, Afro-Chinese-Cuban-Dutch Pearl would have been a struggle, and without someone like Jolie, this movie would never have been made. But the effort to make her physically resemble Pearl, right down to afro-ising her hair, feels at best unfortunate.
What They Said At The Time:"Though Jolie sports a big belly, a high-coiffed hairstyle and a very challenging accent, [this is] a subdued, carefully considered portrait of a woman caught between premature grief and persistent hope." [ Variety]

Rex Harrison as the King in "Anna and the King of Siam" (1945); Yul Brynner as the King in "The King and I" (1951)
Both the British Harrison and the Russian Brynner received great plaudits for their respective turns as King Mongkut of Siam, in the 1945 John Cromwell version and the 1951 film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, both of which were based on Margaret Landon's 1944 novel. The fuzziness of the nationalities and ethnicities involved here means that the 1999 version, " Anna and the King" starring Chow Yun Fat as Mongkut, seems like a model of racial sensitivity by comparison, though Chow was born over a thousand miles and several countries away in Hong Kong.
What They Said At The Time: "Rex Harrison shines particularly in his American film debut. It's a sustained characterization of the King of Siam that makes the role real." [ Variety]

Mickey Rooney as Mr Yunioshi in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
The sine qua non of classic racist Hollywood stereotypes. Rooney's performance as Holly Golightly's "comically" exasperated Japanese upstairs neighbor now rightly lives in infamy as a turn that torpedoes the uncomplicated enjoyment of an otherwise delightful film. Rooney was allegedly "heartbroken" over his performance's recent reevaluation as horribly racist, but that didn't stop the quarter-Filipino Rob Schneider from more or less channeling it in a highly dubious role in the highly dubious " I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry."
What They Said At The Time: "Mickey Rooney's bucktoothed, myopic Japanese is broadly exotic." [ NYT]

Boris Karloff in "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932); Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu in "The Face of Fu Manchu" (1965), "The Brides of Fu Manchu" (1966), "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu" (1967), "The Blood of Fu Manchu" (1968), "The Castle of Fu Manchu" (1969)
Only two of several actors to have portrayed the ultimate Yellow Peril/Oriental menace (Swedish/American Warner Oland, who would later play Charlie Chan, being among the others), Karloff and Lee were both British actors associated with villainous roles. So it's perhaps not so surprising that they both played this enduringly popular, wildly racist character -Karloff's turn, which also featured a yellowface Myrna Loy as his daughter, is maybe the most egregious, but Lee's five films sporting the droopy mustache means he's probably more associated with it now.
What They Said At The Time: "[on 'Face'] Christopher Lee, as the old evil one, complete with waxy mustache, looks and sounds like an overgrown Etonite. Fu Manchu, fooey."[ NYT]

Joel Edgerton and Christian Bale as Ramesses II and Moses in "Exodus: Gods And Kings" (2014)
In a classic moment of digging a deeper hole for himself, director Ridley Scott rushed to the defense of his casting decisions for his biblical epic by saying ""I can't mount a film of this budget ... and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such. I'm just not going to get it financed." Which might suffice as an excuse for Bale, but as John Oliver pointed out, it hardly accounts for why you'd cast a less-than-marquee-name Australian as Ramesses II, slather him with a fake tan and hope for the best.
What They Said At The Time: "The ultimate takeaway is that if you can't finance a $140 million epic about ancient Egypt with racially appropriate actors, maybe you shouldn't make a $140 million epic about ancient Egypt." [ Time Out]

Laurence Olivier as Othello in "Othello" (1965)
To be sure, Olivier came from a stage tradition where blackface was perfectly normal with respect to playing Shakespeare's famously jealous Moor. But unlike Orson Welles' 1952 version, for example, this color production came two years after Sidney Poitier had become the first black man to win Best Actor, and several decades after the black-and-white minstrel look was even remotely able to pass without comment.
What They Said At The Time: "He plays Othello in blackface! ...not the dark-brown stain that even the most daring white actors do not nowadays wish to go beyond. What's more, he caps his shiny blackface with a wig of kinky black hair and has the insides of his lips smeared and thickened with a startling raspberry red." [ NYT, being pretty questionable themselves]

Charlton Heston as Ramon Vargas in "Touch of Evil" (1958)
There's a scene at the end of Tim Burton's " Ed Wood" where Johnny Depp's Wood complains to Vincent D'Onofrio's Orson Welles about his casting woes, to which Welles replies "Tell me about it! I'm supposed to do a thriller with Universal, but they want Charlton Heston to play a Mexican!" In truth, there's not a lot of evidence that Welles had any issue with Heston's casting (nor with Marlene Dietrich's gypsy-fication) -in fact, he appears to have been grateful for the triple-time gig (writing, directing, co-starring).
What They Said At The Time: "Heston keeps his plight the point of major importance, combining a dynamic quality with a touch of Latin personality." [ Variety]

Natalie Wood as Maria (and others) in "West Side Story" (1961)
One major factor that can mitigate the effects of racial miscasting is if the movie turns out to be good (see "Touch of Evil"). And that's certainly the case here: while no one would suggest today that having the Ukrainian/American Wood or the Greek/American George Chikiris play Puerto Rican is unproblematic, Robert Wise's film is so spirited and clever (and so unusually engaged in the perennial debate regarding immigrants in the U.S.) that it feels far less toxic than many other examples here.
What They Said At The Time: "Natalie Wood is full of luster and charm as the nubile Puerto Rican who is poignantly drawn to [ Beymer]... George Chakiris is proud and heroic as [ Moreno's] sweetheart and leader of the rival gang." [ NYT ]

Katharine Hepburn as Jade Tan in "Dragon Seed" (1944)
Based on the book by expat writer Pearl S. Buck, whose stories of Chinese life became popular bestsellers in the U.S., this film found someone concluding that it would be a good idea to sellotape back Hepburn's eyes and call her Jade Tan for this tale of romance and rebellion. Result: her face is like a living manifestation of a pre-CG uncanny valley, while having Walter Huston and Armenian/Russian actor Akim Tamiroff also play Chinese doubles down on the insult.
What They Said At The Time: "It is asking too much of an audience to supply the deficiency of Katharine Hepburn's characterization of a Chinese girl. She... is constantly betrayed by an accent she has made into her own trademark of sophisticated drama. And the heavy speech of Akim Tamiroff falls upon the ear as resonantly as the sound of a gefilte fish banged against a temple gong." [ NYT]

Donna Reed as Sacagawea in "The Far Horizons" (1955)
With Fred MacMurray as Lewis and Charlton Heston locked in as Clark, all that remained for producers of this ambitiously misleading historical epic was to find the perfect actress for the role of Sacagawea, the Native American (Shoshone) woman who guides the duo through part of their expedition. But they cast apple-pie AmericanDonna Reed,who'd just won an Oscar for " From Here to Eternity" instead.
What They Said At The Time: "Aside from nature and a consistently winning performance by Miss Reed as the Indian guide Sacajawea, this slow and unimaginative safari seldom suggests either history or life. In some respects, it is absurd."[ NYT]

Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No in "Dr. No" (1962)
There's no particular reason that Dr. No, a half-Chinese, half German mad scientist, is played by Wiseman, a Canadian Jew. Nor is there any particular reason why Miss Taro, the Oriental seductress is played by Kenyan-born British actress Zena Marshall. Later, Wiseman apparently viewed the role with "great disdain"
What They Said At The Time: "The ending, which finds Joseph Wiseman being frankly James Masonish in an undersea laboratory that looks like something inspired by Oak Ridge, is a bit too extravagant and silly, and likewise too frantic and long."[ NYT]

Paul Muni & Luise Rainer as Wang and O-Lan in "The Good Earth" (1937)
The earlier of the two Pearl S. Buckadaptations here (see "Dragon Seed"), this one casts Muni and Rainer as Chinese peasant farmers struggling to survive turbulent pre-WWI China. Rainer won her second consecutive Best Actress Oscar for the role (she'd won the year before despite only really playing support in " The Great Ziegfeld.")
What They Said At The Time: " ...occidentals are mixed with genuine Orientals for direct conversational contact, and no harmful false note is struck. Luise Rainer's Viennese amidst this mumble-jumble of dialects is but slightly noticeable... Muni as Wang, with a great makeup, is a splendid lead. Rainer has more difficulty, since her features are not so receptive to Oriental makeup. Yet a good actress overcomes these things." [ Variety]

Fisher Stevens as Ben Jabituya in "Short Circuit" (1986)
Recently made famous by an entire segment in the "Indians on TV" episode of Aziz Ansari's " Master of None," Stevens' turn as Jabituya (oddly renamed Ben Jahrvi in the sequel, where Stevens takes top billing) is in danger of embodying "brownface" given Ansari's timely reminder of just how insidious this sort of thing can be. It might not be the most malicious portrayal ever, but it is stereotyped in the extreme and was totally unnecessary to cast a white guy -did anyone go to see "Short Circuit" for Fisher Steven?
What They Said At The Time: "... and Fisher Stevens, as an Indian (from India) scientist who mangles American argot ("Excuse me, I must go to the jack")." [ NYT]

Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal in "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)
David Lean's film is one of the greatest films ever made, but despite a prominent subplot about the rights of an indigenous people to govern their own region, some politically questionable casting decisions were made. Guinness is terrific, but it's hard to ignore that Obi-Wan is in brownface here, not to mention that Mexican actor Anthony Quinn also plays an Arab.
What They Said At The Time: "Guinness has a particularly well written role and plays it with shrewd, witty intuition ... Only Anthony Quinn, as a larger-than-life, proud, intolerant Arab chief seems to obtrude over-much and tends to turn the performance into something out of the Arabian Nights." [ Variety]

Ava Gardner as Julie LaVerne in "Show Boat" (1951)
Perhaps less an example of white washing, since two previous film versions also featured white actresses in the role of the mixed-race Julie, the 1951 "Showboat," directed by George Sidney is still an opportunity missed. The role was originally earmarked for African-American singer and actress Lena Horne, who was only replaced by Gardner when producers got cold feet. Horne probably would have done her own singing too.
What They Said At The Time: "Ava Gardner is the third star, bringing to her role of Julie, the mulatto who is kicked off the Cotton Blossom because of early southern prejudice, all the physical attributes it needs to attract attention. [Actress' singing voice was dubbed by Annette Warren.]" [ Variety, at peak sexism]

Max Minghella as Divya Narendra in "The Social Network" (2010)
There's something especially troubling about the practice of race-blind casting when the role is based on a living person. And it's hard to believe that there was not one actor with an Indian background who could have played the Indian-American Divya Narendra instead of the Italian/Chinese/British Minghella. Not that he does a bad job, but certainly in the 21st century someone in a position of power with this film would know better.
What They Said At The Time: "The twins and their Indian-American partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella, who doesn't look or act Indian)... are all suing Mark." [ THR]

Marlon Brando as Sakini in "The Teahouse of the August Moon" (1956)
Apparently, Brando spent two months studying local speech, culture and gesture before filming this Japan-set comedy, and then two hours per day in the makeup chair, so as to play lovable Okinawan rogue Sakini, interpreter for Glenn Ford's U.S. Captain. Though we're not sure where you actually can discern the Method under all that makeup.
What They Said At The Time: "Mr. Brando looks synthetic. A conspicuous make-up of his eyes and a shiny black wig do not imbue him with an oriental cast. And his manner of speaking broken English, as though he had a wad of chewing gum clenched between his teeth, is not only disconcerting but also makes him hard to understand."[ NYT]

Burt Lancaster as Massai in "Apache" (1954)
A notable entry in the long tradition of Hollywood celebrating the nobility and strength of indigenous peoples by casting a white guy as the best of them, "Apache" imagines Lancaster as the last of his tribe after the surrender of Geronimo, such a noble fighter and such a manly lover (of Apache Nalinle, played by the also white Jean Peters) that he Earns the White Man's Respect.
What They Said At The Time: "While [Lancaster] looks every inch a strapping Apache firebrand, the actor plays him as a churlish, paranoic whippersnapper who must have things his own way. Hitched throughout to a mule, the Lost Cause loses most of its urgency, in a surprisingly feeble excuse for some personal greased lightning" [ NYT]

Peter Sellers as Hrundi. V Bakshi in "The Party" (1968)
It's a movie largely predicated on the humor of embarrassment anyway, so it's hard to say if the added embarrassment of Sellers' brownface makeup and parodic accent adds or detracts from the film. Still, there is a sweetness here that mitigates the outright cultural insensitivity, which can't be said for " The Love Guru." Or those Popchips commercials with Ashton Kutcher.
What They Said At The Time: "...this is one reason why "The Party" is so enjoyable. Sellers works. He develops a character and plays it, for better or worse, for the whole movie. No costume changes. No Napoleon suits. Sellers is Hrundi V. Bakshi, a painfully polite actor from India who courteously and delicately sabotages the evening of several dozen guests and an elephant." [ Roger Ebert]

Kirk Lazarus as Staff Sergeant Lincoln Osiris in "Tropic Thunder"/"Tropic Blunder" (2008)
We have nothing but respect for 5-time Academy Award-winning Australian actor Lazarus, but even we were concerned over the "pigmentation alteration" surgery the famously method actor underwent for this role. Thankfully, it turned out to be an absolute triumph, even if the original film never saw the light of day. Tugg Speedman got the Oscar for "Tropic Blunder," made from the remnants of 'Thunder"s traumatic shoot, but everyone who's seen it believes it should have been Lazarus' sixth.
What They Said At The Time: "This potentially risible stunt is put in relief by having... Jackson ride Lazarus mercilessly about having usurped a role that should have gone to another brother. Whatever political spin people will want to put on it, the audacity of [this] performance reps the best reason to see the film." [ Variety]

Dishonorable mentions
It might be the most recent example, but we find it a little hard to twist our knickers over "Gods of Egypt" in this regard, partially because it's a film we're struggling to remember exists even two days before it opens, but also because it is a fantasy, dealing with mythological, omnipotent entities. The same goes for the minor firestorms that erupted over " The Last Airbender," " Prince of Persia" and most recently " Pan " -in each case, the lack of fidelity to the "original" ethnicity of the characters felt like the very least of the films' problems, but people did seem to care, so we're mentioning them here.

Other instances we've skipped over: Swedish American actor Warner Olandplayed Chinese detective Charlie Chan on multiple occasions, but those films have all but disappeared from the public consciousness. Sean Connery unconvincingly plays a Berber Brigand in John Milius' " The Wind and the Lion." Tony Curtis plays a Native American war hero in " The Outsider." Anthony Quinn plays the titular " Zorba the Greek." Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep are Latin Americans in " The House of the Spirits," as is William Hurt in " Kiss of the Spiderwoman." Kathy Bates in " North," Esther Williams in " Fiesta," Susan Kohner in " Imitation of Life," Douglas Fairbanks in " T he Thief of Baghdad," Rudolph Valentino in " Son of the Sheik," Mena Suvari in " Stuck"... the list goes on and on and spans all of Hollywood history. Any particularly egregious examples you want to call out? Name and shame below, and in the meantime, remember to take it with a pinch of salt the next time someone says that #Oscarssowhite is unavoidable because there are so few roles for non-white actors. There are far too few, but that's not helped by half of the few there are being taken by white folks.

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The 20 Worst Examples Of Hollywood Whitewashing

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The 20 Worst Examples Of Hollywood Whitewashing To a general rolling of eyes and shrugging of shoulders, Alex Proyas' "Gods of Egypt " beats its big silly golden CG wings into theaters this week. Aside from the fact that it looks...

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Whitewashing Examples You May Not Have Thought Of

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Whitewashing Examples You May Not Have Thought Of

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This article highlights 10 examples of whitewashing you may not have noticed. I particularly took interest in reading about the whitewashing in music because I am a huge music buff, but we also covered this in the MUS 225. I have always taken a dislike towards Elvis because he is seen as the "King of Rock" when we wouldn't have rock and roll without Black artists.

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Whitewashing in school

When most adult Americans think back on their education, they're likely to remember mostly White teachers. Even today, the school system is dominated by White educators. Race doesn't determine teaching skill, but White teachers may be likely to skew toward White-oriented curricula, which deprives all students of essential knowledge, particularly when it comes to non-White history. It also means that aside from their parents, non-White students will have a dearth of adult role models who look like them, and their education will be guided by teachers who, unintentionally or not, bring damaging racial biases into the classroom. This issue is compounded by the fact that much of history has also been whitewashed, something that's very much reflected in American textbooks. (More on that below.)

"In the elementary school setting, for Black children and especially disadvantaged Black children, the effect of having even just one Black teacher is fairly big and robust and a real thing," Seth Gershenson, an economist who studies education policy at American University, told the New York Times in 2017. "Black students are hurt by that lack of optimism that White kids get, and Black kids with Black teachers rise to meet their expectations." In 2020, the inclusiveness of school curricula might be shifting. Here are 16 things your children will learn in class that you didn't.

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10 Examples of Whitewashing You Never Thought About

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When most adult Americans think back on their education, they're likely to remember mostly White teachers. Even today, the school system is dominated by White educators. Race doesn't determine teaching skill, but White teachers may be likely to skew toward White-oriented curricula, which deprives all students of essential knowledge, particularly when it comes to non-White history.

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This article covers the topic of Halle Bailey being cast as Ariel in the new version of The Little Mermaid. There was a lot of praise for the casting decision, but unfortunately, there was also a lot of backlash because Halle doesn't look like the cartoon, red hair, ivory skin, Ariel. This shows how even when steps are made to use race bending as a good thing, there are still racist critics.

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‘Ariel...is a mermaid’: Disney network defends casting black actress in live-action remake of classic film

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The hashtags #NotMyAriel and #NotMyMermaid appeared on social media after Disney announced last week that the rebellious undersea princess will be played by black actress and singer Halle Bailey.

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Youtuber Frantastic Frankey discusses her view opinion on racebending in this short video. She explains how she is all for it and describes that satisfaction of characters she admired looking life her. She does contradict it with the thought of the intention behind casting and drawing these characters. She recommends her watchers to view or read something nerdy with a person of color as the lead. This was a good perspective to watch and understand.

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‘If your anti-racism work prioritizes the ‘growth’ and ‘enlightenment’ of white America over the dignity and humanity of people of color – it’s not anti-racism work. It’s white supremacy.” This illistration is by Mikyung Lee. The picture can have many interpretations yet it is desribing how

confronting racism is not about the needs and feelings of white people. I think one main takeaway I got out of this photo was how it is a black woman working in the photo. It says a lot about racism and white supremacy in today’s generation.

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“...racebending is a challenge to the status quo and serves as a slippery slope towards more radical or revolutionary change.” This quote was mention in this article with many perspectives of ‘black spiderman’ and this history behind it. This has been an ongoing topic for more than two decades. This article goes into great details of each aspect of why spiderman should be white, i.e. the “white hobbies” that he enjoys. Different topics in this article discuss the concern and the “corresponding fear of change – real or imagined – reveal the significance” of the colour-line in the popular culture of post-racial America.

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At the end of World’s and Miller’s reading, thet attached an activity to create awareness about stereotypes, especially in the media. The link here is a lesson plan activity that explores representation of gender, class, race, and ethnicity in the media. These activites explain the false ideals of stereotypes and the negative affects it can have on a person. Students that participate in these activites can begin to see the big picture of the consequences of “putting someone in a box” and restricting what people are capable of.

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you.

Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.

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Grades

9 - 12

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Five 50-minute sessions

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Featured Resources From Theory to Practice
OVERVIEW

Stereotyped images create false ideals that real people can't hope to live up to, foster low self-esteem for those who don't fit in, and restrict people's ideas of what they're capable of. In this lesson, students explore representations of race, class, ethnicity, and gender by analyzing comics over a two-week period and then re-envisioning them with a "comic character makeover." This activity leads to greater awareness of stereotypes in the media and urges students to form more realistic visions of these images as they perform their makeovers.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
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Comic Creator: This online tool allows students to easily create and print comic strips.

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Our students are surrounded by texts, print and nonprint, that take advantage of the increasing options for combining words, images, sounds, and other media to create a publication. As these options increase, the capabilities that students must develop to be knowledgeable members of their literacy communities also increase. As the 1975 NCTE Resolution on Promoting Media Literacy states, "new critical abilities 'in reading, listening, viewing, and thinking' . . . enable students to deal constructively with complex new modes of delivering information, new multisensory tactics for persuasion, and new technology-based art forms."

Perhaps one of the simpler forms of media to explore in the classroom is the cartoon or comic strip. As Rocco Versaci explains, however, cartoons can be quite valuable in the classroom, for "placing a comic book-the basic form of which [students] no doubt recognize-into the context of the classroom . . . can catch students off guard in a positive way, and this disorientation . . . [can lead] students to become more engaged by a given work" (62).

Further Reading
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National Council of Teachers of English. 1975. Resolution on Promoting Media Literacy. October 2009. Web. http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/promotingmedialit

Versaci, Rocco. "How Comic Books Can Change the Way Our Students See Literature: One Teacher's Perspective." English Journal 91.2 (November 2001): 61-67.

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Comic Makeovers: Examining Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Media - ReadWriteThink

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ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us. If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals.

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Mario Worlds and Cody Miller dive into the reimagining of the canon for racial justice. They talk about how it affects society, especially in the classroom. While race is still a big subject of social justice that needs to be reimagined, another one is disibilities. Stella Young, a woman who spends her days in a wheelchair, speaks out about society’s views on disibilites and the habits that are made on how people are treated. Both of these subjects need a new foreground on addressing their contemporary issues and how people of certain disibilities and certain races are regarded.

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I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much

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Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who happens to go about her day in a wheelchair — a fact that doesn’t, she’d like to make clear, automatically turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity. In this very funny talk, Young breaks down society’s habit of turning disabled people into “inspiration porn.”

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This episode of MTV Decoded discusses race as a social construct that oppresses groups at the benefit of others. Colorblindness does not improve structural racism and oppression and is the equivalent of 'ignoring a problem and hoping it goes away'. Ignoring racism will not help in the fight for equality and is damaging to the progression of equitable opportunities for all. Colorblindness also overlooks the oppression of others and ignores a part of their identities.

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Why Color Blindness Will NOT End Racism | Decoded | MTV News

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Musicals and Racebending by Chloe Allman

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Musicals and Racebending by Chloe Allman

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The award winning broadway musical Hamilton has been recognized as a race-bending piece in the world of creative arts. The original cast stars only people of color to fill the historically white roles of the founding fathers of the United States. The article attached also explains how this musical is not intended to be completely historically accurate, but instead, challenges the status quo of minorities often only receiving minor roles in broadway shows.

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Racebending and Revisionist Fantasies
Have you heard of a little show called Hamilton? Not many people have, so let me break it down for you. The musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows the life of Alexander Hamilton through the American Revolutionary War and beyond, using - of all things - rap.

After winning a bunch of Tonys and basically taking over Broadway, it recently began airing on Disney+ and now everybody's talking about it again.

A lot of that chatter hasbeen positive, and some of it has been critical. More specifically, Hamilton has been called to task for ignoring its main characters' history with slavery, including the titular character himself.

I won't dismiss this criticism, because it's an important topic and one that deserves to be given some serious thought. Even Miranda himself has acknowledged this as a flaw of his production.

Yet I would offer a slightly different reading of Hamilton in viewing it as an adaptation. I've talked in previous posts in my series on adaptations about the term fidelity - why we often expect adaptations to be completely "faithful" to their origin texts and how this is a nearly impossible thing to achieve.

Hamilton, I would argue, is not trying to be faithful to its source material (whether we consider that source material to be Ron Chernow's book on Alexander Hamilton that inspired Miranda to write the show, or early American history in and of itself).

I would argue further that while Hamilton does present historical information disguised through catchy music and rap battles, the intent of the show is NOT to be faithful to that history. Part of what makes Hamilton 's vision so unique is that it knowingly and cleverly alters history into a revisionist ideal.

For example, we know that history is usually written by white men, for white men, about white men. Miranda famously thwarted that concept by casting leads of color to play important historical figures, including those like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington who were known to hold slaves.

Why do so? What does this accomplish?

The term " Racebending" refers to inserting characters from different ethnic backgrounds into traditionally white roles. It's an important and powerful movement that Hamilton helped to take mainstream. I've written about this subject more in-depth, but essentially racebending allows for better representation and challenges the homogenous status quo.

Hamilton 's legacy allows for a space on stage (and now onscreen) where actors of color aren't relegated to minor parts (or not parts at all); where children in attendance who come from diverse backgrounds can see themselves reflected onstage in a way they never before have been; and where the norms of giving all the complex lead roles to white people gets called to task.

You might even say it was Miranda's way of challenging white privilege to a duel. It is, essentially, demanding satisfaction from systemic racism.

People can rightfully wish that Hamilton would address the reality of slavery more in-depth, especially if audiences are looking to it as an authentic representation of history.

But we should also acknowledge that Hamilton loudly proclaims to us, in every way possible, that it isn't presenting history as it was. It's presenting history as my-God-wouldn't-it-be-awesome-if-it-could-have-been.

And not just in the racebending or the rap battles, but having historical figures who weren't perfect, who made some pretty stupid mistakes, but who had a clear-eyed, uncompromising vision for what the country could be.

Were any of these people really this brilliant, or empathetic, or rhythmically blessed?

Some of it is real. Most of it is revisionist fantasy. If it inspires us now to look back to that history and learn what we can, that's great.

But maybe it's more important to think of Hamilton not as a tool for looking to the past, but one for envisioning a better future. Take what's good, throw out the bad, and try now for better.

As Miranda's lyrics repeat more than once in the play, "You have no control. Who lives, who dies, who tells your story." While some might interpret these words to be mournful, I choose to look at them as something hopeful.

History, and those historical figures, are of the past. Dead, gone, no longer in control. We, the living, get to choose how to best interpret their story and decide what it will mean for us, today.

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Racebending and Revisionist Fantasies Have you heard of a little show called Hamilton? Not many people have, so let me break it down for you. The musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows the life of Alexander Hamilton through the American Revolutionary War and beyond, using - of all things - rap.

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Underrepresentation in HollyWood by Chloe Allman

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Underrepresentation in HollyWood by Chloe Allman

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In this article, the author discusses how underrepresented minority groups are in HollyWood due to the whitewashing of roles. Whitewashing, which is a sort of reverse racebending, in film occurs when a character that was originally written for a person of color is portrayed by a white actor/actress. One example that the author uses to represent this is by talking about 2 jars of jellybeans. One jar is overflowing while the other is mostly empty. Then, the jar containing the lesser amount of jelly beans is then taken from. This metaphor relates to how minority groups already have limited casting opportunities in the film industry, and the white washing of more roles decreases their acting prospects.

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Whitewashing is a concept that has been around for quite literally decades, especially from the early days of film. Simply put: whitewashing means to cast a white actor to play a role that is traditionally, historically, and/or written for a person of color, essentially erasing the poc perspective and experience from the role in favor of a white actor. Whitewashing is nothing new, and Hollywood is far from a stranger to it. From Laurence Olivier doning blackface to portray Shakespeare's Othello in 1965 and Mickey Rooney doing yellowface to play Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's, to the more recent instance of Scarlett Johansson portraying Major Motoko Kusanagi in Paramount Picture's 2017 film Ghost in the Shell based on the popular Japanese Anime.

While whitewashing has been around for ages and Hollywood has been doing it for as long as films have been made, its something that has gained more attention and more focus in recent years on a broader scale thanks to things like the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag started by Mrs. April Reigns, as well as the rash of whitewashing of Asian roles that has occurred in the last few years. The Asian community definitely is not a stranger to whitewashing, and the often offensive excuses that Hollywood makes for it. Whenever whitewashing and its harmful affects are discussed, there is always that section of the populace that has to enter the discussion and bring up the racebending of characters. Racebending, for those who do not know, is when an actor of color plays a character that is traditionally white. People who bring up this argument for why white actors should be able to portray roles meant for characters of color quite often do so with little to no knowledge and history of both whitewashing, the harmful effects it has, and the complete and utter imbalance of the roles that white actors get compared to the roles that actors of color get.

Imagine two bowls of jellybeans sitting on a table, one running over with jellybeans and the other with what looks like a handful. The bowl that's running over represents the overabundance or roles for white actors and actresses in Hollywood, and the bowl with only a handful represents the roles for actors of color in Hollywood. If you take a few handfuls of jellybeans from the bowl with an overabundance and put them in the other bowl with less, then nothing is harmed. The bowl with more jellybeans has a few less but it still has more than enough. However if you take even a single handful of jellybeans from the other bowl and place it into the overflowing bowl, then you've diminished and almost emptied it. When Hollywood whitewashes a role, that's exactly what they are doing; further emptying the well of roles from which actors of color have to draw from. Hollywood further contributes to the unfair and racist imbalance within the industry. Actors of color already have to be twice as good as white actors just to be chosen for an already limited pool of roles that are written for them. They shouldn't have to also compete with white actors just to also play characters of color. A more in depth take on the "jar of" analogy can be found here:

The whitewashing vs racebending debate quite often comes up in conversations related to anything to do with nerd culture. So here is a quick history lesson on characters of color in comic books versus white characters in comics. In the late 30's with the birth of Superman when comic books made the shift into the superhero driven entity that we know them as now, many comic book writers and artists were white, and that was a time when "white" was seen as the default in america. Most characters that were created followed that pattern of white as default, there weren't diverse creators in many of the companies like Marvel or DC to create characters that looked like them, and so for many decades the characters that were created were white. These all-white all-male employed and driven companies were devoid of any perspective and way of life outside of their own, and their privilege which lead to many comics have extremely racist storylines and potrayals of people of color. If you were to go back and look at the early days of Marvel and DC, you would see racist caricatures of Asians, as well as Black people in stereotypical clothing, with stereotypical exaggerated features, and offensive language. It wasn't until 1966, yes you read that right, 1966, almost 28 years later that both Marvel and DC looked up and realized they had absolutely no black superheroes, and it was that year that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Black Panther: the first black superhero.

The mid 60's are where the majority of our black superheroes come from. The Black Panthers, Falcons, and John Stewarts hail from a time of attempted correction. Many of them were specifically created, coded, and written with their identity as black characters being crucial to their characters. Many black superheroes, and other heroes of color were created and crafted in such a way that their blackness and identity of POC are crucial to their character. Remove that, and you essentially lose the impact, purpose, and identity of the character all together. Luke Cage could never be white because of his backstory and the intended or unintended references to government experiments on black bodies. Black Panther and Storm could never be white, not only because they were two of the first few black heroes ever created, but because of the impact that not just their blackness but African culture plays in their backstory and characterizations. Black Panther is quite literally the king of an African nation that has never been conquered, and Storm was worshiped as an African Goddess. However, the same can't be said for characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and many others. The majority of superheroes who are white, their whiteness doesn't impact the character and isn't really written into them the way that characters of color are. Heroes of color were created for a reason: it was done with intent and with their race in mind.

Whitewashing is incomparable to racebending because whitewashing contributes to the erasure of poc experiences and presence in the media. Racebending allows for a character to have a deeper cultural impact and oftentimes have a more fleshed out backstory and personality. A black Peter Parker has the potential to offer a much fresher and culturally relevant take on the character than a white Peter Parker. Imagine how Peter's race could impact his backstory interms of Uncle Ben, a black man gunned down on the streets of New York whose murder is never solved by the NYPD. This take on Parker would allow for nuanced conversations and representation of gun violence and the racism of the NYPD as well as maintining the original "with great power comes great responsibility" theme. These are the types of things we gain from racebending characters, and the things we lose when we whitewash them.

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The Incomparable Differences between Whitewashing and Racebending

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Whitewashing is incomparable to racebending because whitewashing contributes to the erasure of poc experiences and precense in the media. Racebending allows for a character to have a deeper cultural impact and oftentimes have a more fleshed out backstory and personality.

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Reimagining Disney Characters by Chloe Allman

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Reimagining Disney Characters by Chloe Allman

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The image below depicts Disney princesses as women of color rather than the previously almost all white group of Disney princesses. This example of racebending helps give more of a voice and platform to marginalized groups. This specific type of representation would most likely be viewed by children. Children of oppressed groups may feel heard and accepted by viewing this image.

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Whitewashing in the Classroom by Chloe Allman

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Whitewashing in the Classroom by Chloe Allman

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This article discusses the role whitewashing plays in classrooms across the United States. For years, a grassroots movement of educators has been fighting to ensure that the textbooks our students are reading contain accurate, non whitewashed information about the history of race in our country and around the world. The author also discusses the importance of talking about racism in schools, even if the topic feels sensitive or inappropriate. It is imperative that our schools do not allow the voices of minority groups throughout history to be silenced.

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A proposal for a national campaign to rethink textbooks

By Bob Peterson

Illustrator: J.D. King

Illustration: J.D. King

Ever since the Civil Rights Movement, there has been grassroots pressure by educators and community activists to change the textbooks used in U.S. schools. Progress was made. Blatantly racist references to Africa and favorable comments about slavery were eliminated, photos were diversified, and stories of famous African Americans and women started appearing, if not in the main text, at least in scattered sidebars.

Despite improvements, however, most mainstream social studies textbooks remain tethered to sanitized versions of history that bore students and mislead young minds. This was brought home to me earlier this year when I examined the social studies textbook series being considered for adoption by the Milwaukee Public Schools. The books were from the dwindling constellation of large textbook publishers - Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin, Macmillan McGraw-Hill, and Scott Foresman.

In keeping with state social studies standards, the 5th-grade textbooks in each series focus on United States history. Even though publishers make claims about being "multicultural" and honoring our nation's "diversity," none of the 5th-grade United States history textbooks - even those exceeding 800 pages - examines the role of racism in U.S. history or even mentions the word "racism." In two textbooks, the word "discrimination" doesn't even appear. Nor do the texts tell the students that any United States president ever owned slaves, even though 12 of the first 18 did, and all of the two-term presidents up until Lincoln owned and sold human beings.

As my colleagues and I examined the books more closely, a picture emerged that profoundly disturbed us. With important issues like racism, inequality, and conquest falling through the cracks of the historical narrative, there is little reason to recount the resistance to those types of oppression. There are occasional terse summations of resistance, but the bountiful history of people working together, crossing racial boundaries, and building social movements to make this country more democratic and just is omitted. Instead, history is more often viewed from the vantage point of the rich and powerful, the conquerors.

For example, in Houghton Mifflin's 5th-grade text, United States History: Early Years, the section "Life in New Spain" covers Spanish colonization in what ultimately became the U.S. Southwest. Haciendas and missions are described favorably. One sentence references the "mistreatment" of the Indians, but without any description. We then briefly read that the Indians did resist: "In 1680, a Pueblo Indian leader named Popé led a revolt against the Spanish in New Mexico. A revolt is a violent uprising against a ruler. The Pueblo kept the Spanish out of New Mexico until 1692, when the Spanish returned and conquered them again." The actions of Indians were "violent" while no such adjective describes the behavior of the Spaniards who merely "conquered them." The section ends with a single "review" question that pushes students and teachers to ignore conquest and resistance, but instead to celebrate European influence: "What did some American Indians learn when they moved to Spanish missions?"

The omissions and shortcomings in these texts are not limited to race, but a host of other key narratives in U.S. history such as class, gender, and imperialism.

For example, even though there were an estimated 200,000 indentured servants at the time of the American Revolution, the Houghton Mifflin 5th-grade textbook that focuses on that time period fails to note this key aspect of the American Revolution and mentions indentured servants only once in reference to 1619 Jamestown. This failure to help students understand the conditions under which many impoverished Europeans came to the United States corresponds to a near absence of any mention of labor unions, strikes, poverty, and the broader worker movement in the entire textbook series from kindergarten through 5th grade. In the 3rd-grade book "workers" are "producers" who "make things and provide services," while in the 4th-grade book they are "human resources." César Chávez and Dolores Huerta make cameo appearances in a few textbooks, but the fundamental failure of these books to story the long history of people joining together to fight for unions and progressive social change is another glaring case of historical amnesia.

This tendency to downplay conflict and not show how people disagreed - even within social movements - takes the drama and story out of our nation's rich history. History becomes a boring sequential listing of events to be memorized. History appears to be inevitable, a march of forces well outside of the power of people, at least common people. Rarely is the idea presented that people - groups of people - had choices. For example, what might have happened if people in the labor movement had listened to those in their ranks who fought as strongly against racism as they did against large corporations?

However, my aim here is not to present a full critique of these textbooks, but to urge that social justice-minded educators, community activists, and academics build a national campaign to demand that issues of race, inequality, and imperialism be adequately addressed in the social studies books students read. We need curriculum materials that deal honestly with history and society; we need materials that help students question and understand the real world and that equip them to make that world a better place.

Recent experience in Milwaukee shows that a small group of educators and community activists can stop the adoption of a questionable textbook series and begin a vital discussion about teaching issues of race and inequality.

This spring in Milwaukee, some of us associated with Rethinking Schools and the Milwaukee-based Educators' Network for Social Justice raised concerns about the content of social studies textbooks being considered for adoption. We enlisted other community-based organizations, such as the Milwaukee branches of the NAACP and the American Jewish Committee, and after several weeks of lobbying school board members and letter writing we convinced the superintendent to withdraw his proposal to spend $4.1 million on the K-8 social studies adoption for next year. Now that it has been delayed, a broader group of educators, community organizations, and academics has come together to develop a plan for teaching social studies in Milwaukee that will address such issues as well as look at how social studies could be taught.

The task is enormous and complicated. What should our children learn about history? What is developmentally appropriate for different ages? Do young children even need textbooks to study their neighborhood and community? How can we build on the strengths of children's families and communities and integrate those strengths into the learning experience? How do we overcome teachers' lack of historical knowledge? How do we guard against the "open your book, read the chapter, answer the questions" method of teaching social studies and instead promote the thoughtful use of role plays, dramatizations, critical reading and writing activities, and debates to engage students? Given limited resources and testing mandates that prioritize math and reading, how can we secure enough time and resources for social studies? How should we approach social studies standards that themselves promote the biases and omissions we've found in the textbooks? The list of questions will undoubtedly grow.

At a recent meeting at the local NAACP chapter, 32 people from 14 community and education organizations and four area universities and colleges gathered to discuss these and other questions. While reflecting a diverse range of opinions, the group was unified by a strong opposition to the school district adopting a textbook series like those that had been considered the previous year. "I have been involved too long in these struggles to let this go by," Carmen Mills, an African American woman who sits on the NAACP's education committee told the group. "The time is now for us to do something different."

For us in Milwaukee, to do something different means, among other things, that we reach out to individuals, groups, and school districts around the country. We in Milwaukee are only, well, in Milwaukee. While $4 million sounds like a lot of money, it's cheese curds when compared to the statewide adoptions of Texas, Florida, and California. And in some states, notably Texas, the organized right has managed to wield immense influence on textbook companies, ensuring that topics such as global warming and evolution are downplayed in science texts and issues such as racism and imperialism are left behind.

We need a number of school districts - pushed by progressive coalitions of educators and activists, particularly those rooted in communities of color - to demand that textbook companies drastically revamp their texts. Our Milwaukee experience shows that the process of questioning the adoption of problematic texts affords progressives an ideal forum to speak not only about social studies content - and the need to address issues such as race, class, and gender - but also the opportunity to initiate a conversation about social studies teaching methods.

Every seven or eight years, most districts or states adopt new textbooks, thus providing opportunities for struggle. But there is no reason to wait for the adoption process to critique the racism and other problems in social studies textbooks currently being used. In fact, I've found that enlisting students' help in such a critique is one of the best uses for textbooks.

If educators and activists in a half dozen cities worked together to get local school authorities to go on record stating that social studies texts should reflect our multiracial society and should examine issues of race, class, gender, and imperialism from multiple perspectives, that might constitute enough of a "market share" to get at least one major publisher to rethink its texts. But even if the major corporations refused to budge, the discussion and ferment created by campaigns in such cities would be beneficial. New non-textbook resources would be discovered. Teaching strategies and approaches would be shared. If enough activity were generated it might contribute to a much needed national discussion on race or perhaps help establish a new paradigm on how to teach difficult issues.

Progressive U.S. education activists have struggled for years with how to take a predominantly localized institution - the public schools - and develop national organizing campaigns. We have also struggled with how to infuse issues of content, particularly around race, class, and gender, into educational "reform" discussions in meaningful ways.

A campaign to demand the transformation of social studies texts and teaching might be just the place to start.

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Whitewashing the Past - Rethinking Schools

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By Bob Peterson Illustrator: J.D. King Ever since the Civil Rights Movement, there has been grassroots pressure by educators and community activists to change the textbooks used in U.S. schools. Progress was made.