CCoThe new Netflix series, Colin In Black and White, does a splendid job capturing the harsh reality of racism that can take place even within a family unit. Directed by Colin Kaepernick, it is a personal narrative of demonstrated injustice throughout his childhood. The show flips between his childhood and him narrating his adulthood in the “eyes” of his youth. Colin is black, yet he is raised by white parents who do not see the world from his point of view. For example, a doorman asks his parents, “Are you two okay?” when getting into the elevator with a Black boy who is their son. Or, when a cop pulls Colin over when he’s driving with his (white) parents in the car for no reason, just to make sure the white couple was “okay”. These are examples of terrible situations that Colin and his parents are put in, simply because he is Black and racist outsiders are quick to make assumptions.
Although his mother is pretty insensitive to Black culture, such as in the way she refers to Colin’s braids as “unprofessional” and “trashy”, the viewer gets to witness how Colin’s parents adjust to these racial experiences. This is similar to the way that in Lisa Ko’s The Leavers, the main character Deming’s name is changed to Daniel in order to sound more “American”. Colin’s mother would rather have her son cut his hair short, instead of embracing his culture with appropriate hair, because she is trying to minimize the fact that he is not white. She does not want to draw attention to it because even though she is not blatantly racist, she still carries a lot of institutionalized bias as a white woman. Her son is different from her, making her want to change Colin’s cultural identity.
There are many encounters of culture and identity throughout the series as the main character aspires to become quarterback of his football team. The show’s team does a fantastic job at leaving the viewer with many cringey, inherently racist scenes that make you want to fix the injustice for the sake of everyone involved. Ultimately, the show leaves you with the following questions: His parents probably aren’t blatantly racist or they would not have adopted a Black son, so why do they look down on his cultural interest? How can we educate all students on diversity of appearance? How can we reform the police system so that racist, unreasonable arrests/ pull-overs stop happening? This work was a powerful way to open up conversations about what we can do as students, athletes, future parents, and future employees or employers, to minimize that gap of judgment between cultural identities.
Sources:
DuVernay A. & Kaepernick C., creators. Colin In Black and White. Array Filmworks, 2021