Until I checked out BlackPlanet.com, I was under the impression that African-Americans were the most underrepresented, invisible group in cyberspace. Why? Because I didn’t see them on all of the “white” sites I visit: white news, white music sites, white poetry sites…I feel pretty ashamed of myself. My virtual world is just as inaccessible as any other, even though I’m supposedly an enlightened, liberal educator. I fear that the internet helps white people hide their racism even more insidiously—increased anonymity, increased communication with other hate groups, lack of policing on public sites, reduced hurdles for claiming authority; if the internet can empower everyone, we can’t assume that it is only empowering African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans—it empowers KKK members, neo-Nazis, terror groups, etc. I fear that electronic communication facilitates the production of an even more flat, stoic, emotionless discourse that pretends to be “colorless” but instead is oppressive. As Samantha Blackmon says in her essay: “Let me make it plain here that this representation of the raceless majority is not tied to an actual declaration of whiteness but rather to the fact that in the absence of a specific race, white is considered the ‘default’” (93-4).

I struggle very much with issues of race and representation as a teacher. I come from a fairly racist extended family. Even though I rebelled against those influences and tried hard to both love my family and distance myself from their prejudices, I know that there is a certain amount of internalized racism in me. How do I be a welcoming teacher to minority students if I know that inside I’m not free either? Do I expose myself as a recovering racist? I don’t want to hide behind the electronic curtain.

I don’t know what else to say. I’m with Erin on this one. Teaching is very, very hard.