Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television

Social Injustices

Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate TelevisionNetflix original comedy Dear White People aired its first season April 27, 2017.

#DearWhitePeople season 2 has been confirmed.

rottentomatoes: 100%

metacritic: 85

imdb: 6.3


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Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television

Samantha White, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Logan BrowningSamantha White, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Logan BrowningSamantha White

Samantha White runs a student radio show entitled ‘Dear White People’ at her predominantly Caucasian Ivy-League school Winchester University.

https://youtu.be/77r3wjrnHhY


Samantha White, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Logan Browning“Dear white people, here’s a little tip.  When you ask someone who looks ethnically different, ‘what are you?’ the answer is usually, ‘a person about to slap the shit out of you.'” — Samantha White

“Dear white people, here’s a list of acceptable Halloween costumes: a pirate, slutty nurse, any of our first 43 presidents.  Top of the list of unacceptable costumes: me.  Winchester couldn’t get through 2017 without blackface?  Oh, I’m sorry.  Am I being too loud for you?  Okay, one, you’re gorge.  And, two, is ‘white bitch in Texas’ her government name?  Not a thing.  I can’t with you, and what’s more, I won’t.  Look.  For those of you who thought our ivory tower was immune to this type of shit… okay, I’m pretty sure the McRib was invented by Republicans in the ’80s to destroy black communities along with crack and Jerry Springer.  Is McRib day a thing?  Where are you getting these Shirley Chisholm T-shirts?  Only one?  It’s just really convenient that this all came out once white people realized he was rich enough to buy NBC.  I mean, he probably did that shit.  I’m just saying.  All right, y’all.  Five minutes left for call-ins.  Give me your worst.” — Samantha White

“Are you a white male?  I’ll take that as a yes.  Dear White People is a misnomer.  My show is meant to articulate the feelings of a misrepresented group outside the majority.  I get it.  The realization that you contribute to a racist society can be unsettling, but you sound like a grown-ass woman to me.  Next.” — Samantha White

“Oh, God, I pray he didn’t stretch little Rudy out in any other way.  I’ll save you a seat.  Right?  They too busy patting themselves on the back for letting us in.  Hey, thanks for hanging out during the show.  I got plans.  Ain’t nobody got time for no dick.  Shh.  He’s coming over here.  Anyway, I gotta cut my footage for doc class.  Just text me when you’re going down.  You… hey.  ‘Sup, Reggie?” — Samantha White

“Mm-hmm.  Twice.  Uh, crushing candy.  Mm-hmm.  What?  Ew.  Okay, you gonna give me my phone back, though.  Gabe.  Give me my phone back.  Give– Gabe.  Gabe?  Mnh-mnh.  Okay, no, no, no, no.  No, no.  Stop, you’re gonna mess up my hair.  Like, more.  Shit.  I’m supposed to represent for the BSU at this caucus.  Oh.  Yeah, except for when he corners you with a ‘sup?’  Or a ‘so…’ ellipses implied.  What else?  Oh.  No, it’s cool.  It’s, um… it’s members only.  Gabe, I know how analogies work.  Mm, romance.  Yeah.  All right.  What CW show are we in?  You want more.  Oh.  Um… I gotta go get a shower.  So… later, gator.” — Samantha White

“Lionel Higgins, right?  Sure.  You did that article about breaking up the party.  Why haven’t we heard of you before?  Something tells me that’s not true.  Well, generally speaking, Black Caucus is when the different black student unions at Winchester get together for a completely masturbatory and pointless pissing contest under the guise of unity.  You can quote us all you want.  We got the Black Student Union, headed by me, Winchester’s first and only relevant group fighting for black causes on campus.  We got the African-American Student Union, or AASU, which basically does nothing and takes credit for the work of the BSU.  We got Black American Forum or Black AF.  Mostly mediocre slam poets.  They make hashtags and T-shirts.  And then there’s– don’t say ‘the dean’ like he’s not your father.  Some things never change.  Real name: Colandrea.  C-o-l-a-n-d-r-e-a.  For accuracy.  You want to go there?  With half of India’s GDP atop your head?  For what?  Their editor is Kurt Fletcher.  Son of the president.  Nothing is going to happen to him or Pastiche.  You know, in the real world, kids are getting shot by cops for being black.  Voter rights are still being suppressed.  Our criminal justice system continues to propagate a new Jim Crow.  This isn’t about a college magazine.  This is about a movement.  We’re surrounded by the future leaders of this country, and we finally got their ear.  So what do we want to say?” — Samantha White

“So… what y’all talking ’bout?  What?  Talking shit behind my back?  He’s my TA from doc class.  We went for drinks once over the summer, and you know there ain’t shit to do over the summer.  Don’t do that, Jo.  Not you.  Secret or white?  You know I’m biracial, so technically– this is why I didn’t say shit.  that one got so many likes.  I thought I knew who I was.  I thought I knew what I wanted, but when I’m with him, I don’t know.  I… it’s like a respite from everything.  We’re goofy.  We reference obscure movies.  We watch Game of Thrones.  I’ve tried to break it off before, but he sends one text, and I can’t help but smile all day long.  Yeah, this is a thing.  He does.  Fuck.  It’s just something I gotta handle.  Mm…” — Samantha White

“So many showed.  ‘Hate it when bae leaves?’  You didn’t think to ask before you posted that?  Gabe… the best part of us is that it was just us.  Now I feel like I’ve got the entire Black Caucus in my bedroom.  Oh, okay.  You’re joking.  Well, it is.  Don’t.  Don’t Gosling-eye me.  What are you doing tomorrow night?  What are you wearing?  Not just a TV show.  Defamation Wednesdays are the epicenter of black college life.  Don’t you have some Js?  A little.  No, I– that’s– oh, God.  Since when do you even wear sweatpants?  Hey, I was thinking we should have a sit-in.  Maybe in Bechet’s dining hall?  Exactly.  Engage the part of the student body that has the luxury of ignoring us.  Reggie.  Chill.  Ga– hey, are you all right?  Oh, so you felt like the odd man out for two minutes.  Guess what.  I feel like that every day on this campus.” — Samantha White

“Wait, you hacked into Dean Fairbank’s computer?  That’s a thing that can happen?  What’s this got to do with me?  Shit.  You’d ruin your own scoop?” — Samantha White

“What are you talking about?  What’s she doing here?  Dear Abigail?  I’ve had trolls since day one.  Reverse racism?  Really?  I get it.  You were just doing your job.  Well, would you mind if I read some of the complaints?  You?  Out.  Yeah, excuse me.  Dear white people, wow.  Y’all really trying it.  I get that being reduced to a race-based generalization is a new and devastating experience for some of you, but here’s the difference.  My jokes don’t incarcerate your youth at alarming rates or make it unsafe for you to walk around your own neighborhoods.  But yours do.  When you mock or belittle us, you enforce an existing system.  Cops everywhere staring down the barrel of a gun at a black man don’t see a human being.  They see a caricature… a thug… a n*****.  A n*****.  A n*****.  So… nah!  You don’t get to show up in a Halloween costume version of us and claim irony or ignorance, not anymore.  Before this party… a POC on this campus couldn’t even think the word ‘racism’ without being accused of crying wolf.  But just like it took a Sandra Bland, a Trayvon Martin, and a Philando Castile to wake some folks up, this party is what it took to wake this campus up.  Look.  I sent the invite.  I wrote it.  Broke into Pastiche‘s account and sent it.  It was fascinating to see what was lurking beneath the surface when you were given an excuse to suspend your polite, passive liberalism.  I considered it a sociological experiment.  And guess what.  You proved my point.  Winchester, we got a problem.  Oh, one more thing.  To Gabe Mitchell, I’m sorry.  Please forgive me.  #HateItWhen bae’s mad.” — Samantha White

“I just– I think we have a bigger opportunity here.  Can we talk about this later?  Why am I even here?  I get it.  It wasn’t speeches that turned the tide for civil rights.  It was the anarchists, willing to provoke the police, get sprayed by hoses… anything to cause a scene and makes press.  That invite, whoever sent it, should have been met with derision and outrage.  Instead, 100 people showed up and showed their asses, and in doing so, showed this supposed post-racial institution exactly where it’s at.” — Samantha White

“Dear white people, our skin color is not a weapon.  You don’t have to be afraid of it.” — Samantha White

“Get informed.  Fight the power.” — Samantha White

“It wouldn’t be America if mediocre white men weren’t being rewarded over deserving women of color.” — Samantha White

“The more you try to silence us, mock us, discredit us, the more resolved we are to change things.  This shit is fuel.” — Samantha White


Joelle Brooks, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Ashley Blaine FeathersonJoelle Brooks, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Ashley Blaine FeathersonJoelle Brooks

“You know I stay woke, Sam, but right now, I’m getting the tea on how to be waist thin and ass thick from this white bitch in Texas.  Her name’s Marian Updike, and she’s the founder of the Think Slim online course, and she be dropping the knowledge I need to drop my sophomore 16.  I’m learning how to enjoy a decadent McRib.  Miss Updike told me to cut it into fourths and count my chews.  Thirty, by the way.  Suck it, Reagan.  I’m still here.  And please know that I will be showing up on McRib day in a Shirley Chisholm T-shirt sans internal conflict.  Forever 21.  Girl, you know I have no shame.  Well… aside from my one secret shame.  Sam, I’ve been secretly streaming The Cosby Show.  My conscience?  Riddled with guilt.  Yeah, probably.” — Joelle Brooks

“Listen, the man could take an episode about Rudy getting a B-minus and stretch it into a half hour of comedic gold.  Bitch, you going to hell.  You give me shit, but if I wasn’t there to talk about the McRib… shit would get way too real for a Monday morning.  I got you, always.  We chilling before Black Caucus?  Hmm.  Dick-related plans?  Not even Reggie’s?  Hmm, how about you text me when you’re done going down, mm-kay?” — Joelle Brooks

“Yes.  And throw dope parties.  They kinda got beef.  You just got tagged on this.  You’re fucking someone behind mine.  You know what?  I’m happy for you, Sam.  I have to unpack my best friend having a secret bae.  Both.  Look, don’t.  You’re not Rashida Jones biracial.  You’re Tracee Ellis Ross biracial.  People think of you as black.  No, you didn’t say shit because you stay talking about how we can’t give up on our men.  Sam, we met in the comments section of that Medium article you wrote.  ‘Don’t Fall in Love with Your Oppressor: A Black Girl’s Guide to Love at Winchester.’  What’s crazy is you got guys like Reggie wanting to drink your bathwater.  He’s literally Dap from School Daze, but darker, and youi pass him up for Mackle-less?  That shit with dragons set in the world where no one’s black except the slaves?  You hate smiling.  So this is a thing?  He looks like the white dude in the picture that comes with the frame.  What you got?  So when are we gonna meet him?  She’s not afraid of the truth.  Why are you?” — Joelle Brooks

“Joelle.  That’s my girl.  ‘Cause she gotta say something to him, right?  I mean… oh, hell no.  No!  What?  Are you serious?  Wow.  Wow.  Wow.  I can’t.  That’s her father.  Well, actually a clone of her father who works undercover for the CIA after her real father’s untimely death.  Provided the perfect cover.  Sam, you okay?  Holla if you need me, girl.  Ooh, shit!” — Joelle Brooks

“Nicki Mi– hell no.  Man, just take that shit off.” — Joelle Brooks


Reggie Green, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Marque RichardsonReggie Green, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Marque RichardsonReggie Green

“What’s up, Sam?  So, uh, what you up to?” — Reggie Green

“Held during lunchtime at Armstrong Parker once a month because nobody wants to make room on their schedule.  And we already eat here.  They claim mac and cheese Wednesdays, but we made that shit happen.  What a revelation, Kelsey.  Somebody should write this down.  Paper boy, you got that?  What the hell’s Coalish gonna do?  Y’all should let the BSU take lead because we’ve been fighting these issues since jump.  Damn straight.  These kids amuse themselves by wearing black bodies as costumes, and we’re the only ones upset?  We got to bust this campus wide open.  So all your friends?  So the AASU proposes we do nothing.  Nothing.” — Reggie Green

“Black lives are degraded without regard, and we in here watching TV.  This is how the revolution dies.  Not everything we do has to be geared toward white people, Sam.  Nah.  We planning to protest the library.  Too many books in that motherfucker.  Really?  ‘Cause I can.  I mean, it’s almost like you and I attend two totally separate schools.  Not possible.  Bro, just because you got a black chick on your arm doesn’t mean you get to Miley Cyrus our pain, a’ight?  No, no, no.  No, no, look.  Why are you even here?  It might surprise you, but I don’t use my fists to solve problems.  Hit you?  Nigga, I should hit you for thinking that I would hit you.  Sam… I’m sorry.  Everything that’s going– Sam.” — Reggie Green

“Welcome to the revolution.” — Reggie Green

“The revolution is running on embers.” — Reggie Green

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, unless you’re loud and black and possess an opinion, then all you get is a bullet, a bullet that held me at bay, a bullet that can puncture my skin, take all my dreams away, a bullet that can silence the words that I speak to my mother just because I’m other, a bullet… held me captive.  Gun in my face, your hate misplaced.  White skin, light skin, but for me, not the right skin.  Judging me with no crime committed.  Reckless trigger finger itching to prove your worth by disproving mine, my life in your hands, my life on the line.  Fred Hampton.  Tamir Rice.  Rokia Boyd.  Reggie Green?  Spared by a piece of paper, a student ID that you had to see before you could identify me and set me supposedly free.  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  For some of us, maybe.  There’s nothing self-evident about it.” — Reggie Green


Gabe Mitchell, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, John Patrick AmedoriGabe Mitchell, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, John Patrick AmedoriGabe Mitchell

“Did you, uh… what?  That’s such an unfair advantage.  What are you doing?  Right after?  What level are you on?  No, no, no, no, no.  Absolutely not.  You’re supposed to spread all this jelly, you know.  It’s not ‘ew.’  It’s imperative to the game.  Look.  Come here.  Okay.  Look, this is why you’re still stuck on level 20.  Yeah?  Spreading this digital goo.  This is one of the most pressing issues of our time.  What?  No.  What?  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  No.  No.  You’re so silly.  What?  You want this?  You don’t want it?  No?  You think you’re so slick.  What?  What?  Huh?  Yeah, I am.  I’m gonna mess up that hair like a light drizzle on a much too humid day.  Reggie wants you.  Mm.  Reggie’s a… Reggie’s a cool guy.  You guys gonna talk about the party?  Man, it’s just so fucked.  You know I could, uh– I could come with.  So… you’re a shark.  That’s cool.  I get that.  You know, you’re always moving, and you only slow down to kill… I guess what I’m saying is, you know, it’s, uh… you know, romance in a place like this, it’s been reduced to, like, hooking up, you know?  It doesn’t exist here.  I want to be more than just a hot lay for you, Sam.  You know what I’m trying to say.  Yeah.” — Gabe Mitchell

“Hey.  Don’t want to bug, but I know you forget to eat.  Holy shit.  Is this the party?  You okay?  Uh, yeah, I know.  But, you know, uh, in my defense, the use of ‘bae’ was purely ironic.  Uh… um, I’m sorry.  Are you embarrassed?  Could be kind hot.  I’m only a  Millennial on paper.  I didn’t realize that an Instagram post was a relationship stage to be navigated.  Okay.  We can go slow.  I just want to go somewhere.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Who, this guy?  What do you got?  What are you talking about?  We’re gonna watch a TV show.  Okay.  Oh.  Wait, are you trying to My Fair Lady me for your black friends?  Oh, so in this instance, you want me to appropriate your culture.  Mm.  Coming?  I wear them all the time.  You’re always taking ’em off of me.” — Gabe Mitchell

“Hey, I’m Gabe.  Okay, wait, wait.  So, who is that?  That’s a little, uh–that’s a little far-fetched.  Hey, is this about the party?  You know, in 2017, I can’t believe something like this could happen.  Hey, man, I’m just as pissed off as you are.  No, uh– look, that’s not what I meant.  You’re absolutely right.  I have no idea how you feel.  But I want to.  Look, I’m Gabe.  What are you gonna do, hit me?  You know what?  It’s not worth it.  Yeah, I’m fine.  I’m sorry to embarrass you in front of all your friends.  Yes, society sucks, but I would never let my friends make you feel you didn’t belong in my world.  Oh, and don’t worry.  I’m gonna delete the post.” — Gabe Mitchell

“You know what?  Sometimes people get what they have because they earned it.  Just because I happen to be a white male does not automatically mean I’m some asshole!” — Gabe Mitchell

“Fucking white people.” — Gabe Mitchell


Lionel Higgins, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, DeRon HortonLionel Higgins

“Um, yes.  From the Winchester Independent.  Covering this meeting.  I just need someone to give me the lay of the land.  Yeah.  I’m not that notable.  Is this off the record?  Hi, Troy.  You got it, Troy.  Picked that up.” — Lionel Higgins

“Sam?  Can we talk?  Some CS major ran a redirected shell script, analyzed the active network interface, and routed… yes, it’s a thing that can happen.  Sam… we have hard evidence that someone broke into Pastiche‘s Facebook account and sent out an invite for the blackface party.  My editor wants to run with the story as soon as possible, but… if someone else breaks it before we do… you know?  I guess I just don’t like the idea of telling someone else’s truth.” — Lionel Higgins

“All right, y’all.  Let’s do this.  Geordi La Forge.  He was the chief engineer on the starship Enterprise D.  It’s a visual instrument and sensory organ replacement.  Geordi’s blind.  ‘For all those looking to unleash their inner Negro… from years of oppression, Pastiche presents ‘Dear Black People,’ Our 89th annual Hallow’s Eve Costume Party.’  Jesus.  Hey, hi.  Um… there’s something happening on campus I think you guys should know about.  Let’s do this.  Ah!  Ha!” — Lionel Higgins

“Thanks.  I was just… waiting for Troy.  Yeah.  It’s gaining sentience.  Well… why’d you put it on the cover?  To be fair, ‘Pastiche, bad.  Black kids, good.’  You asked me to cover race relations at Armstrong-Parker.  This is what they are.  ‘Friends’ is optimistic.  Intersections?  I’m sorry.  Gay?  I really don’t subscribe to those kinds of labels.  Individually I know what those words mean.  No.  Oh, um… this isn’t like a date or– right.  Right.  No, ’cause… I have a thing, but I’ll think about it.” — Lionel Higgins

“Just a follow up question.  You don’t seem to be that interested in going after Pastiche.  Why is that?  Oh, I’m okay.  Actually– I really just keep to myself.  Okay.  Oddly specific.  Sonic 29?” — Lionel Higgins



Troy Fairbanks, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Brandon P BellTroy Fairbanks

“CORE.  The Coalition of Racial Equality.  And the only group here invited to sit at the dean’s quarterly student council.  Hi, Lionel.  I trust your story’s portrayal of these fine groups will go unbiased.  Some things do.  I’d like to use this meeting to cull some thought that CORE can actually take to the dean.  That’s not what she said.  About what now?” — Troy Fairbanks

“Hey.  You did that shit, man.  Over here, man.  Do we have to waste this race-baiting drivel while we eat?  Don’t mind James.  He’s a Republican.  Yo, nobody on this entire campus has the balls to do what you did, Lionel.  And this article?  The pussy you about to get, my man.  Mm.  You gonna be knee-deep as soon as we do something about all that.  I mean, you know I cut hair.” — Troy Fairbanks


Colandrea Connors, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Antoinette RobertsonColandrea Connors, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Antoinette RobertsonColandrea Conners

“Coco.  CORE’s new treasurer. Don’t do it with that mess atop your head you like to pass off as natural, held together by bobby pins and prayer?  Lord.  Oh.  We have nothing, sweets.  I happen to find her viewpoints to be little more than self-serving, blacker-than-thou propaganda.  Feel free to quote me, Lionel.  Miss Black Power over here dating white boys.” — Coco Connors

“Hey.  How’s it going?  Cool.  Cool.  You’re Troy’s roommate, right?  do you know if he’s dating anyone?  I mean, has he said anything?  So he doesn’t talk about who he’s dating.  You be sure to let me know if he does.  Thanks, sweets.  You’re the best.  Heart you forevs.”– Coco Connors

“Beauty is pain.”– Coco Connors

“Sweets, the oppressed do not get their freedom by appealing to the morality of their oppressor.”– Coco Connors

“Well, you see, with me, there is no confusion.  People take one look at my skin, and they assume that I’m poor or uneducated or ratchet.  So, yeah, I tone it down, make myself more palatable, join a sorority.  What’s so wrong with that?  Dear white people, you made me hate myself as a kid, so now I hate you, and that’s my secret shame.”– Coco Connors

“Listen to yourselves.  Running up on a cop?  Calling them pigs?  As soon as you double down on your blackness, they will double down on their bullshit.  They pull guns on us.  They shoot us.  They kill us.  That has not changed in 200 years.  We need to manage our blackness in situations like these.  No, I’m talking about self-preservation.  Quote me correctly.”– Coco Connors

“I grew up on the South Side of Chicago.  I’ve actually seen friends and family members shot.  And every time it happens, I wish they had done something, anything to prevent it.  Some of y’all in here with your liberal purity, wasting time deciding who’s black enough.  Who cares if you’re woke or not if you’re dead?”– Coco Connors


Kelsey Phillips, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Nia JervierKelsey Phillips

“Yeah, guys, you know what this is?  This is racism.  I thought this kind of thing only happened in the ’50s or in BuzzFeed articles.  I don’t feel safe.  Just to play devs, all my white friend are talking about it.  Yelling at people who are already on our side using hashtags and marches?  Cathartic though it may be, it just makes us look angry.  Pastiche are the bad guys here.  Let’s go after them.  Sam… I’m happy if you’re happy.  Okay?” — Kelsey Phillips

“Yes, coat.  And the boots.” — Kelsey Phillips


Al, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Jemar MichaelAl

“Yo, fam, can we cut the Love & Hip Hop auditions and get to it?  We need a march on campus, fam.  #Sinchester.  #BlackFarceParty.  #FuckThePolice!  That one’s evergreen.  Ma-ma-se, ma-ma-sa, ma-ma-ku-sa.  We are angry, Kelsey.  Hey, it’s in our Constitution.” — Al

“Yo, we got the next Ta-Nehisi Coates in this motherfucker.  Great piece, man.  Hey, Lionel, what you doing over there?” — Al


Narrator, Dear White People, Netflix, SisterLee Productions, Culture Machine, Code Red, Homegrown Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Television, Giancarlo EspositoNarrator

“Ah, Winchester University.  Hello.  The writers of this program are depending on my ethnic but nonthreatening voice to explain things they are too lazy to set up traditionally.  Only two months into the semester, and already the ninth Ivy League’s quads buzz with future Olympians and presidents, with innovators trying to crack the next Facebook, with diverse students being forced into group shots for the admissions brochure.  One of Winchester’s most well-known groups is the humor magazine Pastiche, whose members have left their mark as satirists, television writers, and most recently… hosts of a blackface party.  Ah, look, Serena Williams.  That’s an actual black person.  That’s… I guess Nicki Minaj?  I’m not sure.  Even more blackface.  Apparently this is a thing that white children are into.  Google it.  If you couldn’t tell, there’s lots more going on at this party… …than meets the eye.  Oh, more actual black people.  I wonder if they’ll find this amusing.  They do not.  Unpacking this egregious event will take some time, but an excellent place to begin our saga is with Samantha White, a junior media studies major and local provocateur.  As one of the few black faces in this mostly white place… …Sam had become used to episodes like this… …and run-ins like these.  Sam had enough and took to Winchester’s syndicated student radio station.  While Sam’s show, aptly titled Dear White People, garnered a diverse set of listeners… …others was butthurt.  Keeping with its vow to mock anyone deemed too self-important, Patiche set out to take down Samantha White by throwing a politically incorrect party for all those burdened by her demands for racial sensitivity.  However, after pressure from the administration, the party was canceled.  But somehow, unbeknownst to Pastiche, an invite went out anyway.  And it is here we find Sam and her camera, at the epicenter of one of the biggest scandals to hit Winchester so far.  And like most parties, the hangover from this one… is a motherfucker.” — Narrator

“Ah, the racially insensitive party, a mainstay of primarily white institutions since time immemorial, a chance for the majority to celebrate marginalized communities by reinforcing the very stereotypes that oppress them.  Lionel Higgins wasn’t always a revolutionary.  Don’t let the Afro fool you.  In fact, Lionel’s made multiple failed attempts to tame his hair while at Winchester.  It’s not that Lionel’s afraid of black people… just those that remind him of the kids from high school.  And thus, being assigned to Winchester’s black residence hall, Lionel was riddled with the slings and arrows of his past.  Despite his lifelong timidity, his discovery that Pastiche’s Dear Black People Party lit a fire under Lional’s ass that burned straight through to the coccyx… the start of his backbone.  And that’s how this student journalist not only broke the news of the party, but became it, too.” — Narrator



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