"Remixing Colorblind" takes a look at race in higher education at a time when the issue has flared up at campuses nationwide
LAWRENCE -- A notion exists that millennials are growing up in a colorblind society, but the instances of racism and bigotry that ignited protests at colleges across the country last fall tell a different story.
Rider University professor Sheena Howard wrote, directed and produced "Remixing Colorblind" (Courtesy photo) But even months before students at the University of Missouri, Princeton University and dozens others made national news and shed a light on racial tensions, a Rider University professor had begun working on a documentary about how higher education was shaping the perception of race.
"Remixing Colorblind," written, directed and produced by Sheena Howard, will make its debut later this month at The Landmark Theatre in Philadelphia.
"We have more students of color enrolled in college than ever before," Howard said. "This is a dynamic that universities haven't had to deal with in any substantial way up until this point."
Too often, she said, students of color go to schools where as much as 90 percent of the administrators and faculty are white, 70 percent of them will be subjected to racially insensitive comments and pictures of white people line the halls -- but colleges and universities are doing little to address the campus culture.
Howard said many students who come from predominantly white or black schools arrive on campus with stereotypes and preconceived notions of race that are uninformed, incorrect or racist.
"We don't have core curriculum courses that force students to deconstruct that notion," she said. "I think higher education can be a place where we lead in having more constructive conversations about race and less destructive incidents about race."
Howard began filming in April with the help of students, alumni and other faculty.
The documentary features interviews with faculty, administrators, teachers, guidance counselors and young people from a wide spectrum of perspectives, including historic black colleges and universities, predominantly white institutions and inner-city high schools.
The premiere will be held Feb. 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and include a 15-minute Q&A session with Howard. That will be followed by screenings at campuses across the country and film festivals.
For more information, visit remixingcolorblind.com.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.