Power and Race [Interactive Graphic]

In response to the recent critiques about racial representation in the Oscars, The NY Times recently put together a graphic showing the "Faces of American Power".  The times include powerful people in entertainment, but also looked at leaders in other fields such as business, politics, and sports.

The result is a powerful representation of just how white our power structure is. You  may even want to point out colorism--those leaders who are included as minorities are often very light-skinned. (Think Marco Rubio or Cory Booker). And finally, wile it wasn't the focus on the analysis, this visual can also show your students just how white and MALE the power structure is.


 I often display charts showing how many CEOs or Senators are white, but I think for some students, images work better than numbers can to illustrate the depth and breadth of the issue. I hope you can use this to help students see the concept of white privilege and power. Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/26/us/race-of-american-power.html?_r=0