The Future of Race

In the article the Future of Race: Identity, Discourse, and the Rise of Computer-mediated Public Spheres, by Dara N. Byrne, I was unaware of these racial online websites such as Asian Avenue, Black Planet, or MiGente which appeals to younger generations of Asians, African Americans, and Latinos. This seems to be somewhat of an underground movement that allows Asians, African Americans, and Latinos to talk openly and freely about issues that they and their communities are concerned with. I think that this is a great forum for youth to have in order to make sense of the world and who they are.

Furthermore, I found it particularly interesting that most topics discussed among these youth were broken down into the following categories: relationships, heritage/identity, religion/spirituality, current events, and finance. According to Byrne's article, the most popular threads are relationships and heritage/identity. Since teenagers by nature tend to be very ego-centric, I found it hopeful that issues such as race/heritage made the top of the list. I think in order to change society and move in the right direction, we need to address these issues openly using these chat rooms as a place to hopefully vent and then organize for change.

We see this movement in action specifically in Barack Obama's presidential campaign and how the ineternet has made an impact in allowing his message of change to reach millions of people in a fast and efficient manner. If he can succeed to not only get the young voters to hear his message and then act on it by voting, this could not only be a historical moment in history for race, but for the technology age as well.