Comments on: This Week in Diversity: Racial Identity, Reading, and Writing

By: Miriam

Miriam — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:53:29 +0000

Ha. I can see where they got “Aftertaste,” but “Reflection” makes so much more sense. Thanks, Ching.

By: Ching Yeung Russell

Ching Yeung Russell — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 02:07:07 +0000

The first character of the Chinese on the left means “look back,” the second one means “the pupil of the eyes.” Together it means “Reflection.” It is the name of the store. The other four characters on the right mean the antique furniture.

By: Jason Low

Jason Low — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:45:55 +0000

Melissa, I agree. I feel the problem lies in the lack of historical research. Just because someone is of a certain ethnic background doesn’t make them a cultural expert on their race. If anything, being a person of color *should* make you more sensitive toward visual or written interpretations related to race and how they will be perceived.

By: melissa danielle

melissa danielle — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:31:39 +0000

Creating works that perpetuate historically demeaning images and perceptions of black and Latina woman is doubly irresponsible when the offender is of black or Latina descent.

Black and Latina women suffer from a dearth of positive and inspiring images in the media. We can pretend like we are not influenced by media representations, but images like the one presented in this mural contribute to the damage of women’s self-esteem.

The artist appears to not understand the historical weight and context of displaying objectionable imagery in a very public and international space.