Leslie Picca: Two Face Racism
Professor Leslie Picca discusses her work, Two-Faced Racism: Whites in the Backstage and Frontstage, which examines the racial attitudes and behaviors exhibited by whites in private versus public settings. Prof. Picca explains how simple racial jokes work to maintain dominant racism while offering up an easy out for racists. The creation of these white safe spaces where intolerance and prejudice are elaborated are rarely challenged by other whites, instead the behaviors are excused or dismissed. How "color-blind" excuses work to help whites act, avoid, and deny race while keeping white people comfortable and safe in integrated spaces. Finally, Prof. Picca explains how an individual's actions in safe white spaces fit into larger systems of racism, white privilege, and minority discrimination.