Tapestry of Faith: Building the World We Dream About: An Anti-racism Multicultural Program

Alternate Activity 1: Exploring Race in Film

Activity time: 20 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Film clips that show White privilege at work.
  • Computer or DVD player or projector

Preparation for Activity

  • Obtain movies from which to select clips. Possibilities include:
    • Crash (Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock; Lions Gate Films; DVD release September 2005)
    • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn; Sony Pictures; DVD release February 2008)
    • Grand Canyon (Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Mary-Louise Parker, 1991; 20th Century Fox; DVD release 2001)
  • Select short film clips that demonstrate White privilege. Possibilities from Crash include scenes in which the White district attorney and his White wife are victims of a carjacking or the scene where she feels unsafe while the Latino locksmith is changing the lock. A possibility from Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? is the scene where the father calls his editorial staff to confirm his daughter's boyfriend's credentials. A possibility from Grand Canyon is the opening scene, in which the White, affluent protagonist drives home after an L.A. Lakers basketball game (objectified shots of Black athletes) along a deserted street, where Black youths carjack him and an older man (Black) rescues him and chases the youths away.

Description of Activity

Use this activity in place of Activity 3. Play the film clip or clips and invite discussion, observations, and insights about ways in which the film illuminates White privilege and White identity.