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Race Dialogue Project Panel -- Painting Over Racial Injustice: A Panel on Race in the Media featuring Professor Carolyn Marvin, Dan Berger, Sophie Sanders Credit: Shrestha Singh

Though both open and closed discussions of race are “dangerous,” according to Communication professor Carolyn Marvin, open discussions hold potential for progress.

One such discussion took place Wednesday in the Philomathean Halls. At the closing event for the “Undressing Race” art exhibition, which opened Nov. 14, a panel of three scholars addressed an audience of about 15 on the topic of “Painting over Racial Injustice.” The talk, sponsored by the Philomathean Society and the Race Dialogue Project, focused on the role of media and art as platforms for the discussion of race.

Marvin emphasized the importance of free speech in regard to controversial topics like racism. YouTube in particular, she said, “keeps discussion and symbols from being monopolized by any one group,” allowing the conversation to develop naturally. Though she emphasized that the transition to an open discussion of race will “continue to be painful,” students and young people will be essential in furthering the process.

The news media also plays into the larger discussion of race. Annenberg School for Communication graduate student Dan Berger said that while racism remains visible in society, issues concerning blacks and other people of color are often “glaringly overlooked” in the news. He proposed that media could be used to create compelling narratives of racial justice, bringing the discussion into the public realm. While his talk mainly focused on news media, he said that “everyday people have the power to shape those narratives,” emphasizing the need for open discussion at all levels of society.

Sophie Sanders, a Temple University Art History graduate student whose artwork was featured in the “Undressing Race” exhibit, concluded the panel by connecting the talk to art. She claimed that “we are living in a time when there is a sense of postmodern amnesia, a kind of impatience in dealing with race.” As a society, she said, we tend to gloss over the still-present issue of racism. Examining the race dialogue through art grants a more realistic element to the discussion.

The panel itself reflected the importance of an open approach to race. “The things they said have given the Race Dialogue Project great ideas for moving forward,” College senior Masha Jones, an RDP member and one of the panel moderators, said.

Such conversations, according to Marvin, allow for “less shame and more change” in the greater discussion of race.

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