In "America Has a Big Race Problem," Jeff Nesbit talks about the inherent problem of racism as shown in the Implicit Association test, when 90% of white people have a bias against black people. This article brings up the recent tragedies of black people being shot by police, such as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Nesbit brings up more results from studies to prove that many Americans still have certain beliefs of racial groups based off of stereotypes. Through statistics from the University of Chicago, it shows that 62% of the survey-takers believe that African Americans are more lazy than whites. From these statistics, Nesbit wants to bring awareness to how we can change the way we think about our own prejudices, as racism is learned, so it can be unlearned too.
In "How Contemporary Photography Is Changing The Image Of Blackness In America," Priscilla Frank shows how photography is alterating the state of mind by changing viewers' perception of black people. Art and literature has always been the forefront of showing other people a glance into better understanding other people's way of living. As perceptions are shaped by what we see and hear in media, the only way to change it is to bring awareness. Previously, photographs of black people have been "one-dimensional" and only worked to perpetuate harmful stereotypes-and Frank wants to emphasis the beauty, the stories, and the strength people of color do have through photography. Frank gives an example of Frederick Douglass, who knew the importance and power of photography, because even after abolition of slavery, Douglass wanted to create blackness as symbolism. Frank provides a multitude of other photographers' work and the narratives they bring to the forefront through their work.
In "Diversity & Inclusion in Design: Why Do They Matter?," Antionette Carroll brings awareness that in the world of design, it isn't as inclusive as it should be. It is missing two elements, "demographic diversity" and "a culture of inclusion." Carroll defines that diversity isn't just race, it means the whole package of what it means to be diverse. Diverse means to be coming from a different age, culture, experience, language, background, perspective, and creativity! Without diverse people in design, we don't hear their thoughts. Nor do we hear or see what could be considered as racist or insensitive. Carroll continues going on about AIGA and their movement towards being more inclusive by having programs that promotes diversity and inclusion.
From these articles, I was able to better support my beliefs that racism is prevelant in America and in the workplace of the Design industry. I am sure Design is not the only industry that has low rates of diversity and likely counts of racism, but it is a niche I do want to talk about in my final project. It was awesome to learn that photography can be such a wonderful means of story-telling and changing people's minds. I hope to be able to create a place where others can easily access a datebase and even share their own stories and experiences to better widen the scope that racism exists and we need to collectively work together to tackle this issue.