Why can't people talk about race? [Video]

A recent report by MTV (Yes MTV!) gives some insight into how millennials think about race.

One of the the findings shows that about half of all millennials think it is wrong to draw attention to someone's race in any situation (even positive ones).  The following clip makes this point quite clear.


The study also shows that about half of these young adults think that it is hard to have a conversation about race. Taken together, this means that only 20% of people in this age group are comfortable having this talk.  You can use this clip to open up that dialogue.

Slate's James Boule summarizes the report by saying that "Overall, MTV confirms the general view of millennials: Compared with previous generations, they’re more tolerant and diverse and profess a deeper commitment to equality and fairness. At the same time, however, they’re committed to an ideal of colorblindness that leaves them uncomfortable with race, opposed to measures to reduce racial inequality, and a bit confused about what racism is." 

Even more of a reason to discuss race in our classes! [You can link to the Slate article here . The article contains a link to the actual report findings.]