If there was a slogan for the millennial generation, I believe it would go a little something along the lines of, “Speak Your Own Truth”.
In the newest Netflix series, “Dear White People”, that’s exactly what the black population of Winchester University plans to do. Airing April 28th, the story of the Winchester student body speaks to the activist in all of us.
After a scandal that rocks the college campus, many students are left wondering whether or not they can trust how the world views their race.
Entrenched in the same social and political themes addressed in the original movie by Director Justin Simien, the series incorporates everything from the mixed girl who is “down with the people”, to the young lady who has been labeled dark for so long it has become synonymous with ugly.
For the African American students of Winchester, they will always be reduced to the generalized cultural cliché of a “thug”.
For the white students of Winchester, they struggle to witness their own systemic racial bias and privilege. Yet, neither is willing to acknowledge their own actions in causing such a racial divide.
In the series, Samantha White (Logan Browning) brings light to the real racial tension both at Winchester and throughout society.
Fraught with the same pretentious and immortal air of the millennial generation, the comical yet highly thought-provoking series calls attention to the social injustices faced by the youth of tomorrow.
Even when the same racial stigma is dressed under the guise of a prominent ivy-league education, the students of Winchester use their voice, and a little guile to make their agenda known.
Throughout the series, the story breathes new life into the senseless deaths of Sandra Bland, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and so many more.
At the base of it all, this fun and self-actualizing depiction of racism in the 21st century is a reminder that we are all just trying to create our own identity in the world. It also reminds us that ignorance met with ignorance, can often be mistaken for fact.
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” – Elie Wiesel
Airing on Netflix, April 28th!
