Pierce Freelon Breaks Down the Invention of Whiteness in a New Animated Musical SeriesPosted in Articles, Arts, History, Media Archive, United States on 2020-07-06 15:15Z by Steven |
Pierce Freelon Breaks Down the Invention of Whiteness in a New Animated Musical Series
Indy Week
2020-07-02
 Whoopi Goldberg and Pierce Freelon photo courtesy of the artist |
“Hey you, Caucasian,” Pierce Freelon raps with confiding urgency as the video begins. He goes on to break down the formation of American whiteness from varied ethnic groups—something defined not by what it was, but by what it wasn’t, meaning Black and Indigenous—over an energetic collage of animated images.
It’s the first trailer for The History of White People in America, which premieres Monday, July 6 on PBS World. Freelon—Blackspace founder, former Durham mayoral candidate, and soon-to-be “family album” creator—is the co-director, writer, and musical composer of the series, which was selected by curator Whoopi Goldberg for the Tribeca Film Festival’s animated-shorts category…
Read the entire article here.