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Watch the interviews of any 8 people of your own choice in the Whiteness Project carousels. Write a very brief summary of what each person’s prejudices seem to be (3 to 5 sentences for each).Next choose ANY 3 from your group of 8 people and discuss each of their prejudices, stereotypes and racist comments. Then talk about where their misconceptions might come from and discuss how you might help change these misconceptions to reflect a more open minded approach through a conversation with them as a friend. Example: 1) ClaudiaClaudia talks about not knowing where “the line” is meaning she doesn’t know what to say and not say in the presence of African Americans. She’s afraid that talking about fried chicken and Kool Aid in front of a Black person is insulting. It seems like Claudia has latched on to an old stereotype that all Black people eat certain foods. This stereotype is often reinforced in the media like in TV and in movies. Claudia probably has very little interaction with African Americans and doesn’t realize that people are individuals. According to our text book, people are more than their culture and she can’t assume stereotypes are true. Based on what I learned from the Anderson Cooper video on racism, she might have learned these stereotypes from a young age. I would suggest to Claudia that she think about how often stereotypes can be deceiving and perhaps she should consider interacting with people outside her White friend group perhaps at work or in social settings to learn more about individuals. I might say,”Claudia, I know when I interacted with people who were

very different from me, I learned that the stereotypes I had weren’t true. For example, one of my friends who is from Lebanon told me that there are a lot of Christians in the Middle East who are Catholic like me, but they are targeted because they are from that region. The Muslim friends I met through him were no different than a lot of my American friends because they are Americans too. We like to do the same things and they don’t think what happened in 911 was right either. Do they eat different foods sometimes? Yes, but I’m Italian and I know that I eat some foods that my friends don’t eat. Maybe it would be better for everyone if we tried to find common ground instead of relying on outdated stereotypes that drive a wedge between one another.”*(In the sample above, I’ve analyzed where Claudia might have gotten these ideas and how these ideas could be dispelled. This is an important part of your analysis for your grade.)Continue discussing any other expressions of stereotypes, prejudice and/or racism expressed by Claudia. It’s important to tie her misunderstandings back to anything you’ve learned from the text and/or other media like the Anderson Cooper video, Robin DiAngelo etc., after you finish one person, move onto the second one you chose, then move onto the third person you chose to write about.*Each discussion is worth 25 pts= total assignment = 75 pts. Being able to identify what their issues are and tying them back to what you’ve learned and how you might have a conversation about this with them is what your grade will be based on. Link to videos: londonessays.com