“What is this thing called “race?” – a question so basic it is rarely raised. What we discovered is that most of our common assumptions about race – for instance, that the world’s people can be divided biologically along racial lines – are wrong. Yet the consequences of racism are very real…
This series can help clear away the biological underbrush and leave starkly visible the underlying social, economic, and political conditions that disproportionately channel advantages and opportunities to white people. Perhaps then we can shift the conversation from discussing diversity and respecting cultural difference to building a more just and equitable society.” Larry Adelman, Executive Producer
Co-sponsored by the Racial Justice Task Force of the United Church of Gainesville, the Alachua County NAACP, the City Redevelopment Agency and the Equal Opportunity office, and the Hippodrome Theatre, this three part film and discussion series will explore issues of race, and institutionalized racism. We will meet to watch a 60 minute film, followed by a 45 minute discussion. The discussion will be lead by Lance Gravlee, UF professor of anthropology, and Ian Fletcher, VP of Education and Talent Alignment at the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce. Location is the Hippodrome Cinema. Dates: 9/12/16, 9/26/16, and 10/3/16. Time 7:30 PM.
Episode 1- The Difference Between Us examines the contemporary science – including genetics – that challenges our common sense assumptions that human beings can be bundled into three or four fundamentally different groups according to their physical traits. Date: 9/12/16 at 7:30PM. Location: Hippodrome Cinema.
Episode 2- The Story We Tell uncovers the roots of the race concept in North America, the 19th century science that legitimated it, and how it came to be held so fiercely in the western imagination. The episode is an eye-opening tale of how race served to rationalize, even justify, American social inequalities as “natural.” Date 9/26/16 at 7:30PM. Location Hippodrome Cinema.
Episode 3- The House We Live In asks, If race is not biology, what is it? This episode uncovers how race resides not in nature but in politics, economics and culture. It reveals how our social institutions “make” race by disproportionately channeling resources, power, status and wealth to white people. Date 10/3/16 at 7:30 PM. Location Hippodrome Cinema.