Some colleagues expressed concern about showing Kid ‘in’ Africa as part of the Dialogues Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. The following is a contribution I made to the discussion.

Given the fact that in 2006 we showed a documentary filled with racist images and in 2008 we plan to line the halls at Schoolcraft College with racist memorabilia, it is interesting to read the concerns that some individuals are expressing about showing a racist film in 2007 as part of our dialogues to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

What made it acceptable to use Jim Crow’s Museum last year and makes us welcome the Hateful Things exhibit for next year is the fact that both are not being sprung on people without a context. The same can be said for Kid ‘in’ Africa.

We are not going to take a group of students into a room, show them a racist/sexist movie and then ask them to go about their day. Instead, we are first going to ask them to reflect on times when someone tried to impose their values on them and what happened when they have tried to impose their values on others. Then, we are going to introduce the students to the issues of ethnocentrism and cultural imperialism. Only after they have that background will we show them the film.

After viewing Kid ‘in’ Africa, we will continue the discussion by asking how stereotyping gets in the way of active listening and effective communication. And then we will ask students to apply those issues to the classroom setting.

Finally, we will have students review the “Talking and Listening” quotations found in “And Don’t Call Me Racist!”

In considering the applicability of the film, I think that we need to realize that it is being show in the context of a guided discussion. We are also providing support materials that members of the faculty can use to continue the discussion in their classrooms.

I believe that using Kid ‘in’ Africa in the context of the dialogues honors Dr. King in the same way that showing Jim Crow’s Museum and displaying Hateful Things honors him. In all three cases, racist imagery is a vehicle to promote positive discusses about racism in society; positive discussions that are the building blocks to peace and justice.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Related Entries

• An Open Letter to A Student
• Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.