J298 Race and Journalism

Race is an element in most stories, whether you’re covering #blacklivesmatter protests, presidential elections or city council meetings. You can’t accurately report on anything, let alone race, without understanding this country’s history and how white supremacy permeates everything. (“When we use the term white supremacy it doesn’t just evoke white people, it evokes a political world that we can all frame ourselves in relationship to,” says bell hooks.) In this class we’ll examine systems, power, and historical coverage of communities of color, which has often reinforced stereotypes and, under the guise of being “objective,” distorted the truth. We’ll also consider how our racial identities and proximity to power and privilege play a role in how we see the world, and thus, how we report. We’ll discuss ways to build trust, report with empathy and humility, and produce stories with a focus on equity and reparations.

There will be a reporting assignment for this class that can be done in any medium.