[Maru]

'Dismantle Whiteness' Mural Installed At USC
https://www.dailywire.com/news/29321...-usc-paul-bois

'Dismantle Whiteness' Mural Installed At USC
"The installation is intended to spark dialogue"

The University of Southern California (USC) has joined the fight to "dismantle whiteness" by erecting an artistic mural designed to spark a conversation on "racism, sexism and xenophobia."

According to The College Fix, the "dismantle whiteness" mural was erected by the "feminist artist collective When Women Disrupt in conjunction with students in the class 'Women: Designing Media for Social Change.'"

"Recently installed at an entrance to the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism building, it depicts large sketch drawings of four women of color on walls flanking the doorway with the words 'DISMANTLE WHITENESS AND MISOGYNY ON THIS CAMPUS' posted on the ceiling above it," reports The Fix.

Communications Professor Alison Trope told The Fix that the mural, which castigates white people in a way that would be racist if applied toward blacks, is designed to spark a dialogue.

"The installation is intended to spark dialogue,” Trope said. "To that end, the signage is meant to offer grounding of terms and ideas. There is no expectation that everyone agree with the statement offered by the artists, but hopefully viewers can acknowledge the experience of peers on campus around these issues."

“In fact, the text was derived from conversations with students about race, gender and class issues on campus. There have already been many generative conversations prompted by the work—by those who align with the sentiments and those who do not,” she said.

The group responsible for the installation, When Women Disrupt, describe themselves as “an intersectional feminist artist collective.”

“Since the summer of 2017, WWD has traveled all throughout the United States installing small and large scale art which call attention to racism, sexism and xenophobia," says a flyer describing the group. "By confronting communities in the public space with art that uplifts the voices and sacredness of people whom history has often rendered invisible and less than human, WWD’s intention is to provoke greater discussion and thinking about the institutionalized and everyday systems of power and representation that reinforce racism, patriarchy, and inequality."

Displayed at the exhibit is an information flyer that explains exactly what it means by "whiteness."

“Distinct from being white, whiteness refers to an unmarked and unnamed place of advantage, privilege or domination; a lens through which white people tend to see themselves and others; an organizing principle that shapes institutions, policies, and social relations," says the flyer.

While certainly provocative on its own, an article in The Daily Trojan says that several students were upset that the mural was not placed in a more-traveled area, accusing the administration of concealing it.

“It’s placed in a very hidden area of campus where it’s not usually seen and I think that speaks to the administration and how they want to frame and direct the conversation and the impact — the fact that it is inward-facing not outward facing — all of these factors are intentional from the administration and I think this project would have been much more powerful if the artists were given more freedom,” said one student.

Trope feels the administration should have put the installation on Watt Way, a more public area. “It’s disappointing to me because I think it could have had a great impact on our community in terms of spurring dialogue and conversation about race and gender and campus climate,” Trope said.

[Oliver_W]

How embarrassing that a place of education endorses crap like that.

[Crimson Dynamo]

[Cherie]

The idea that people find this acceptable

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Cherie

The idea that people find this acceptable

Some people think only white people are capable of racism, it probably comes from that train of "thought".

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Some people think only white people are capable of racism, it probably comes from that train of "thought".

incredible really, two wrongs don't make a right

[bots]

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.

[bots]

if it had been any term other than whiteness there would have been riots

[Scarlett.]

I honestly don't get what this is supposed to achieve, do they think people will see this and think "Lets have a calm rational discussion"? It's just childish divisive tactics, it actually makes it more impossible to have calm rational debates.

[jaxie]

This is the type of thing that causes problems, not solves them. The word whiteness smacks of racism really.

What they could have said is let's support inclusiveness and equality, but nooooo, they didn't.

[Tom4784]

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

Exactly.You can’t fight racism with more racism.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

All VALID points. They may be 'Highbrows' but they certainly lack any 'Common Sense'.

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

All VALID points. They may be 'Highbrows' but they certainly lack any 'Common Sense'.

Unfortunately where certain ideologies are involved “common sense” is an unwanted distraction.

[Beso]

The jocks are a traditional part of campus life in the usa so they can forget mysogyny..

Whiteness is a good one, is that like no bad dancing, larger penises for the boys and nice big bootys for the girls.

Sounds not to bad to me.

[Marsh.]

Good idea but silly in practice and will only cause more divisions than it hopes to fix.

[montblanc]

i understand it tbh

[Underscore]

Originally Posted by montblanc

i understand it tbh

same