I recently found out about a new show that’s airing on CNN
called “United Shades of America”. The show discusses race relations in America
and is hosted by W. Kamau Bell, a Black male comedian. In the very first
episode, he and his film crew arrange a meeting with the local leader of the Ku
Klux Klan to discuss the ideals of the KKK and his view on race in America.
Personally as I was watching this, I felt a lot of fear and
uncertainty for Bell when the leader came on camera wearing his full KKK regalia.
Granted, I know it is a network television show, so I figured nothing bad would
be shown, but it still left me feeling nervous that something might happen to
the host and the crew since they were meeting at night in a rural, isolated
area. Being a Black female, this is something that I would personally NEVER do
regardless of any circumstances that might convince me otherwise, so I applaud
Bell on his courageousness.
While there have been countless television programs made on
discussing race relations in America, this show really intrigued me mainly
because of his meeting with a KKK leader, on the first episode. Seeing a Black
man go into an unfamiliar area, at night, in an isolated wooded/rural area to
arrange this meeting is something that I have never encountered on any prior
race relations program. Given what I know about the KKK, I was pleasantly
surprised to see how cordial the KKK leader was towards Bell (shaking his hand,
calling him ‘sir’, etc).
To me, this show marks a very new and radical idea of going
to the heart of institutional racism to tackle these pertinent issues in our
country. While I am not sure how much of an effect Bell had on the KKK leader
after this meeting in terms of changing his outlook on minorities, but I think it
was an important move that can perhaps be the stepping stone to addressing the
issue of race in America. Perhaps by changing the opinions and attitudes of the
people who are the oppressors historically, can change the outlook and beliefs
of the organization for the future.
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Here is a link to the YouTube clip of this meeting with W. Kamau Bell and the KKK leader:
Rheanna, I also felt fear and uncertainty for W. Kamau Bell when he was meeting with the KKK President. Bell put himself in an extraordinary situation that can lead to interesting conversation about the way that our society views racism.
ReplyDeletePart of me wondered how Bell could come in contact with any member of the KKK. I tried to imagine how I would go about this if I were in his position. I thought that surely no one I know could be involved in something so prejudiced. Then I realized that I might know someone who has a relative that is a member of the KKK. It is something that I would not share with even my closest friends if I were in their place because I personally consider it shameful and ignorant to believe in the KKK’s principles and beliefs.
The symbolism in this episode was very interesting to me. The KKK president, who despises darkness in skin, chose to meet in the darkest time of night. The car headlights illuminated not only the relationship between the two people of different races but also two completely different ideologies about humanity. One person, robed in white, believes that only people that share the same skin tone as he does are clean. His race is the chosen race and is the dominant race, according to his beliefs. The other person courageously showed his face and used his words to calmly question the KKK president’s beliefs.
I sincerely hope that their conversation can spur other conversations about how our society is engrained with racism and how to change that.