Race is an issue many people are uncomfortable talking about especially across cultural lines.
Jose Antonio Vargas is hoping to change that with a new project this fall with the Los Angeles Times. .
He’s narrated a letter titled Dear White America. In it, he talks about the demographic shift in this country, the minority-majority in California and the role each of us will play in a new racial binary.
It’s a sensitive area full of trappings. Starbucks hoped to engage its customers in conversation about race, but the initiative folded before it barely got off the ground due to a backlash in social media and from its customers.
Perhaps such a complex and nuanced topic deserves a better forum than I’ll have a tall latte and, by the way, what do you think of the Black Lives Mater movement.
The Times #EmergingUS campaign may be that forum. Reading about these issues over a morning cup of coffee in the privacy of your own home will give people a chance to soak in these issues and maybe give it a second thought.
Social media will give readers a chance to engage with others on these topics.
Of course, none of this matters if no one reads the articles or bothers to engage. EmergingUS will be a new digital magazine.
What do you think? Are Americans ready to engage on race in more than a superficial way?
Dear White America, A Letter from Jose Antonio Vargas
