November 16th, 2009 / 5:25 pm
Author Spotlight

Colson Whitehead for Secretary of Post-racial Affairs

Pop culture is the arena for our hopes, our fears and our most cherished dreams. It is our greatest export to the world. That’s why as your secretary of postracial affairs I’ll concentrate on the entertainment industry.

Published a couple weeks ago in the NYT, but I didn’t know about it till I saw it linked on Amber Noelle Sparks’s blog, which itself is today’s fun new discovery.

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10 Comments

  1. Ben Spivey

      I just finished reading his book ‘The Intuitionist,’ good stuff.

  2. Ben Spivey

      I just finished reading his book ‘The Intuitionist,’ good stuff.

  3. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      scary true

  4. Tim Jones-Yelvington

      scary true

  5. reynard

      a few weeks ago i subbed a high school class in east oakland, as i often do. in this particular class we watched the end of _higher learning_.

      afterwards i asked them if they thought things had changed in the fifteen years since the movie had been made and they were (mostly) like, hell no, nothing changes, barrack isn’t really black, etc., etc.

      so, just to see what would happen, i suggested this idea, basically, the idea of becoming a postracial society. first of all they didn’t think it was fair for me to say so because i was white. of course, i defended myself using the reverse racism card, and one student backed me up. the other students proceeded to call him a ‘light-skinned mofo.’ anyway, it went on from there and i think we all learned a few things, and that’s what it’s all about. i was glad they didn’t simply agree with me, but instead proved why i was wrong (more or less) and why things aren’t changing (or not as much as they could).

      discussions like this are a good sign. i love colson whitehead’s attitude, and especially the fact that he did it in the times! postracism is absurd and it’s crucial that we not let ignorant liberals stymie real progress with their pseudo-progressivism.

  6. reynard

      a few weeks ago i subbed a high school class in east oakland, as i often do. in this particular class we watched the end of _higher learning_.

      afterwards i asked them if they thought things had changed in the fifteen years since the movie had been made and they were (mostly) like, hell no, nothing changes, barrack isn’t really black, etc., etc.

      so, just to see what would happen, i suggested this idea, basically, the idea of becoming a postracial society. first of all they didn’t think it was fair for me to say so because i was white. of course, i defended myself using the reverse racism card, and one student backed me up. the other students proceeded to call him a ‘light-skinned mofo.’ anyway, it went on from there and i think we all learned a few things, and that’s what it’s all about. i was glad they didn’t simply agree with me, but instead proved why i was wrong (more or less) and why things aren’t changing (or not as much as they could).

      discussions like this are a good sign. i love colson whitehead’s attitude, and especially the fact that he did it in the times! postracism is absurd and it’s crucial that we not let ignorant liberals stymie real progress with their pseudo-progressivism.

  7. Beniamino

      That article got a lot less attention than it deserved.

  8. Beniamino

      That article got a lot less attention than it deserved.

  9. Schulyer Prinz

      Colson Whitehead misattributed the quote “everything is everything” to Lauryn Hill in his “pick a genre” piece for the NYT book review. Not giving credit to Donny Hathaway immediately disqualifies him for eternity.

  10. Schulyer Prinz

      Colson Whitehead misattributed the quote “everything is everything” to Lauryn Hill in his “pick a genre” piece for the NYT book review. Not giving credit to Donny Hathaway immediately disqualifies him for eternity.