Ebony and Ivory on the Net:
Race Relations in Cyberspace
Brave New World
"Can we all get along?" asked Rodney King. Race relations is much broader than just black and white but in America our constant uphill battle to get along has been between blacks and whites. Because of programming and upbringing we oftentimes don't give someone the chance to properly represent themselves. We make various assumptions based on their skin color, hair, or dialect. But the Internet seems to bring us a whole new world; human interaction on many different levels without the distraction of skin color. Is the Internet truly the utopia it appears to be?
The Digital Divide
This term is getting so overused but its a reality. The primary reason for the digital divide is financial, that's both here and abroad. According to Kathleen Hohman, some tentative solutions are; lowering internet access costs and offering access and directing non-connected people to those sites. Prices are dropping for technology but while we wait for that, the people that don't have the net are surviving without it so by the time they have access to it, will they want it?
Nevertheless, the US Government has done studies that show that blacks and other minorities are not too far off of the national average as far as net usage is concerned. On the whole minorities are no more than 15% below the national average with net usage.
Minority Outreach?
Kathleen Hohman talks about sites that target certain cultures and groups, is this necessary? There are many sites that cater to specific peoples but if someone is connected, they are connected. They are already online so this does not address or close the digital divide at all. If anything, it shows that the Internet is a world of one's own making and people will create spaces for themselves if none exists for them already. Uh oh, does this mean that we are still separatists even when we can't see each other or when we are "not really real"?
Net Hate
This is another topic that gets way too much airplay but we can't pretend like it does not exist. As was previously stated, there are sites that are tailored for certain groups in content, vernacular, etc. Hate sites do the same thing, unfortunately the common ground is hatred of someone else. Sometimes the sites lean more towards self identity; e.g. the KKK or the Nation of Islam. But there are other sites that are very offensive and oftentimes violent. Most people think that these people are crackpots but they should be taken seriously, especially the militia groups...they have guns.
True Melting Pot
Despite the separatist elements online there are a few places where the Internet shows itself to be an amazing tool for globalization. Chat rooms throw all types of people together. Yes, there are chat rooms created by and for specific groups but generally no one really knows "what" everyone else is. There's such anonymity, even when people divulge information, one does not know if they are telling the truth. An even more gray space (if you will) online are message boards. They are much less interactive and the focus is on the content being discussed, not necessarily the people making the postings.
Wrap it up
The internet really does have the potential for dissolving racial lines. Even looking at race relations from a wider, world perspective; this possibility still has life. The world is indeed getting smaller and all of our cultural ideas are beginning to bleed into each other. Not to the point where we are losing ourselves; rather we are finding ourselves in new and different ways.
References:
Hohman, Kathleen, "Bridging the Digital Divide". What you need to know about, 2003. (http://racerelations.about.com/library/weekly/aa121399a.htm?once=true&)
Hohman, Kathleen, ""Culturally-Targeted Sites Bridging the Digital Divide". What you need to know about, 2003. (http://racerelations.about.com/library/weekly/aa073001a.htm)
NTIA, "A NATION ONLINE: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use Of The Internet" (http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/html/toc.htm)