EDST 391-083
Color-Blind Nation: Worthy or Worthless Ideal?

Readings:

• McKnight, R. ("Confessions of a wannabe Negro") {ER}
• Hardy, Q. ("The unbearable whiteness of being") {ER}

Your readings have differed in the extent to which the authors thought it important for blacks to develop a strong racial identity. They have also disagreed about whether there is, in fact, an "essence of blackness."

1. To what extent do you think it is useful for people to believe that there is an essential "blackness"? (Please be ready to describe what you mean by "useful"--to whom and how.)
2. Or an "essence of whiteness"?

   ---