- I went to a school that
was predominantly Black when I was growing up. And when I first saw the first White kid, I was like, "What is that?" You know what I'm saying? (participants laughing) (upbeat music) - [Producer] I act
differently around people who aren't my race. Three, two, one. - I think the most important thing is just to authentically be yourself and I don't think being around people who don't look like you should be a reason for you to act any different. - Yeah, for me, I guess it's
like within the confines of like the workforce. (participants laughing) - I was thinking code switching. - Because if you show up to
a meeting talking like this, they're like "Uneducated, got it." They'll use the slang to sell the products and to tweet and to get
the clicks and stuff. But like, as soon as the worker's there who's authentically from the area and talking like people from the area, it's like, "Ooh, we don't like that." You know? 'Cause it's always
like, "Well, be yourself until you're yourself." And then it's like, "Ooh,
I don't like yourself." Unfortunately, in a lot
of the areas of work, it's like you almost have
to like lie to these people to be like, "I'm a robot, you know. I love your company." (participants laughing) It's sick. It's sick. But it's like it's, you have to get you... - [Kaylyn] It's true.
- [Corey] Yeah. - [Kaylyn] Like I feel like
code switching is one part. But also, like there's certain
parts in my own community that aren't accepted. That when I'm around different
people that look like me, I can express myself differently. Like I feel like if I talk a little proper sometimes I get a little slack for it from my side of the family. But when I go into the
world sometimes, I like EDC. I like tech music. I like, you know what I'm saying? - See for me, I feel like it
has nothing to do with race and more has to do with
just being professional. Like if I'm at work then I'm obviously gonna
be a little more proper. You know, a little bit less slang and all of that and just
more careful with my rhetoric but I don't think it has to do with race. The only thing I will say is
like I work in political media, so I'm on camera a lot. So people already know who I
am and what I'm coming with. But that being said, it's like when I'm around
other Black people, because I'm a Republican, sometimes they tend to be
really standoffish with me or think that I don't
understand the culture and all this different stuff. So sometimes I have to feel it out like, "Are these people who are just
gonna call me an Uncle Tom, or are these people like I can actually just keep it all the way real with?" So that's the only time I
feel like I act different because of race. - You know, I also work in
political media but as a leftist, and I honestly feel like
I've definitely benefited from being able to be in
spaces where I've been able to be authentically myself. And I definitely think that's a privilege, especially where I like grew
up is just like something that's regularly happening
that people have to go through. But personally I think I've been able to, especially now in a business side and now my new workplace, I feel like I don't have
to adapt my language to make people like respect me or understand where I'm
trying to come from. You know? - At what point, is it like, damn we can't even
really have conversations without buttoning up and being like, "Oh, this is how. We have to talk like this
'cause so they'll listen." Or like regardless as... (Kaylyn mumbling) But people- - Do you think it's racial
or do you think that's just? - I think. I don't know that if... I don't know that it's because... I'm right, I know where you're going. (participants laughing) - You see me, we see each other. - [Corey] I know, I see... I know exactly where it's going. I don't think it's
intrinsically rooted in race, but I think just the way the social genetic makeup of people are. I think just by way of people of specific races speaking a certain way or being perceived a certain way, it just, it tends to be more often
than not rooted in race based off of like urban Black Americans. - [Participant] Yeah. - I think most people
have barriers they put up when they get introduced to a new group. I went on disagree instead
of strongly disagree because like there have been situations where I get introduced to a group of someone of a different
race and like yeah... At first I'm pulled back, but once I get comfortable with them, those walls come down and then that's where
my true self comes out. - For me it really depends because I've been shooting
music videos in the hood so I really need to basically adopt myself to become a Black person. So for me it's not a problem
like meeting new races, I always like vibe and chill with people. - [Corey] Do you think adapting yourself to those different ethnicities, is like something that's required to foster like a successful relationship? - Like I would say it's
really more for your survival. Because you know, like if
you are the only White guy on like, on set, and
like there's like people with like guns and stuff. And you know, you just
really need to like fit in and just be chill with it. - You're from the Ukraine, right? Do you feel like being, like not having grown up with
American culture as a whole, and then especially not growing
up with our subcultures? Do you feel like that's
influenced the way you move when you're moving
between our subcultures? - My like mentality is kind of mixed because like from the age of like 13, I really started to to learn English. From that I really learned a lot, like I really got the
American like mentality more and basically like my
mentality is like mixed. Because like in Ukraine, if we see a Black person, we call them the N word and from our side it's not offensive. Like we say it not from a offensive way. But some people can because you know, like you don't see a Black person there. - I can understand that
because I went to a school that was predominantly
Black when I was growing up. And when I first saw the first White kid, I was like, "What is that?" (participants laughing) You know what I'm saying? So like it was a White
girl with like red hair and I was like, "Whoa, I've
never seen this before." You know what I'm saying? So like I understand that
like when a White person comes to a predominantly Black group, then you're going to try
your best to adapt to that, to our culture to be like, "Okay, hey I get along with you." This is my way of like telling you like, "Hey, I'm like extending
an olive branch basically." So yeah. - Personally, not to sound triggered but I just don't like the notion that you're becoming a Black person by pretending to be hood or adopting a hood mentality. This is not all Black people are hood, not all Black people are ghetto. I understand what you're trying to say and I don't know if
it's a language barrier so I don't wanna like come at you like you're saying something racist. But I just really am anti, Black people being
defined as ghetto and hood 'cause there's a lot of
classy Black people out there. - Yes, there's a lot of intelligent
Afro-Americans out there and it really like depends
on like where you grew up in. - Also, if you are a
hood and ghetto like me, you can also be all those things too. - [Producer] White people also experience race-based prejudice. - Since you guys probably dunno. I have lived overseas. I've lived in Asian countries. In Japan, there are certain restaurants and stuff like that that
you could walk into. You can see people
dining in the restaurant and they're gonna tell you they're closed just because you're
White or you're American. So the idea that White people
can't really experience racism kind of contradicts the
very definition of the word 'cause the definition
of racism is prejudice based on one's skin color. White people do experience
it but to a different degree. - While I do think that our White brothers and sisters in Christ can experience racial-based prejudice, I don't want to overlook
the nuance of that prejudice because it's not necessarily
rooted in anything systematic or anything that's gonna actually have long-term effects, knock on wood, that are gonna like debilitate the race or inhibit their chances or
possibility of succeeding or being seen as better than POC. - I definitely think it's a non-issue. Racism towards White people, especially specifically
I wanna like in America. I don't think it's something that needs to be highlighted as an issue that is a constant threat to lives, day-to-day wellbeing, progress and success in life in general 'cause it's not something
that's gonna inhibit you. You don't have to walk out your door and think I'm about to be attacked like people of color do every single day. - I do agree that White people haven't been put through centuries of hell like Black people were. But prejudice towards
White people, 100% exist. Like whether it's in
TV, if it's in movies, like if you watch
predominantly Black media, there's a lot of roasting
towards White people that if it was the other way around that would never be acceptable today. Then, you go on social media like TikTok and you look up White people are bad. You will see videos where
they're attacking White people for things that their
ancestors did 200 years ago. There are societal benefits at this point for being a person of color and that those negatively
affect White people. Like if you look at affirmative action, diversity quotas in the workplace, all these different things, they lower the bar for Black people but then increase the
bar for White people. However, I think where
some of the issue comes is because a lot of marginalized groups and people of color back in the day went through so much worse
that it's easy for us to discredit the prejudice that White people now deal with today. - I think like on an
individualistic level, like yeah White people
get hate all the time. But I think if you zoom out and you look at the big picture, it's a little bit different. And like talking about like
YouTube having racist content for anyone out there, it's like I would have
to go and seek that out versus it like coming to
me versus like on Twitter. - Against White people? - Yeah, I would have to
like look for a video being like people who hate White people. - [Participant] I agree. - Like versus like Twitter, I don't have to scroll very long before I see some person making
some out-of-pocket comment about... - [Lex] And regulation being lifted so people can see that even more so, absolutely that's 100% right. And even saying affirmative action, statistically and on paper, White people, White women
we're benefiting more from affirmative action in colleges than any other demographic. So I also don't think that's fair to say but I definitely get what you mean, and again I think it's the
prejudice is still there though. - And I will say that Black
people do deal with prejudice. I think every demographic
deals with prejudice. There are racist people everywhere, like I just don't think systemic
racism is a issue anymore in today's society but I do think that there
are racist people out there. - [Nikki] I think that there's a really important distinction. Our language is constantly evolving and you were talking about
the definition of racism. Our societal definition has changed to include a systemic part of it and I completely disagree with this idea that people of color
don't have systemic things against them still, 'cause the fact that
we still have the KKK, the fact that we still have these things, and they are in positions of power. As long as that exists and
as long as that's a part of our country's like makeup
right now, which it is, and that's our power structure, I don't feel like you can
honestly deny systemic racism against the Black community which is why prejudice is
so different from racism. I don't think White people can experience racism in this country, but we can experience prejudice based on the societal
definitions we now use. - [Producer] Being sexually
unattracted to a race is racist. - I think where the line gets
drawn is when if a White male was sitting there swiping
and he's just like, "I don't like Black
girls, they're all ugly. They have too big a lips." I think that's where the line gets drawn, but you can't really help
what you're attracted to. Like my fiance's Mexican and it's like I like him for
who he is, not how he looks. - I think that we are
conditioned to be attracted and to respond to people that we grow up and around with. So homogenously we grow up
with people who look like us. So when you move into dating and things like that, statistically you're going
to be attracted to people that you grew up seeing right? However, when you are
discrediting a certain race for whatever reason,
based off their ethnicity, meaning everybody who did exist, is existing, and will
exist from that race, you are not feeling anything. Cute, I don't control your
body or your thoughts. But on one hand I'm like,
let's maybe unpack that. Also, where's my camera? To all the girls that's
putting this in their bios, that's none of our business. Stop doing that. Keep that to yourself. We don't wanna hear that. - We don't wanna hear it. - [Nikki] For me, I think
that like we're talking about conditioning and
how we grew up, right? If you go to like South
Africa for instance, which within some of our
lifetimes had apartheid. If you grow up in that,
especially as a Black person where you're constantly being mistreated by every single White person and you're conditioned to be like, "White person, no thank you." I don't think that's racist. - I agree and I obviously I
did not grow up in South Africa with apartheid. However, like I say the
nickname of my town was Clancy. Like a lot of my interactions growing up were incredibly racist and
I'm dating a White guy, so I totally get what you mean. I don't wanna discredit Black people or anyone who's had
those kind of situations 'cause it's not that they're
not dating White people. It's definitely, it's more
like they're cautious. - [Xaviaer] I think you used
the perfect word earlier. Is it conditioned? (participants exclaiming) - [Kaylyn] I actually, I was
thinking about it on terms of me being a Black woman. I feel like it's a lot different
when it is a Black woman going into dating someone
that is not of their race. I can tell you from my experience
with dating Hispanic men, White, whatever. They've only seen Jerry
Springer and Maury. So it's like they have
a whole different idea of what a Black woman is. Yeah, like before my
husband changed a lot, one of the comments made to me was he was afraid of me going to his house with braids in my hair. because then they would assume that I was a different kind of girl instead of looking at me for who I am. - [Producer] I have been denied
access because of my race. - I can go anywhere. I can sit down anywhere and I am not gonna be denied
because of how I look, and I would be ignorant to not admit that. - And I'm gonna counter that with we are justifiably
not let into spaces and our Whiteness takes away
access to things like powwows, and there's an island in
Hawaii that's only for natives or for like safe spaces
for Black communities or whatever else. We are justifiably denied
access because of our skin. - [Xaviaer] Period, we love the nuance. - [Sarah] The thing about Hawaii though, Hawaii is stolen land. I believe that they have every right to be able to say only we
are allowed to go here. - [Nikki] Justifiably.
- 'Cause that was theirs. - It was literally stolen land that was stolen by White people. - Yes. No, but that's why it's justifiably. It's still denied access,
but it is justifiable. A hundred percent don't let me in. - [Sarah] Yeah, it's denied
access but it's justifiable. But it's like in my own day-to-day life, I could go anywhere. I can sit down anywhere. I can go read a book in a library. I can go to Starbucks. People don't fear me 'cause of how I look and so they don't feel the need to be like you can't be here. - [Mark] But like in in
your day-to-day life, are you being denied access? Like are you trying to go to that island that they won't let you? - [Nikki] No.
- [Mark] Okay. - Then I think that's
a really good question. - [Nikki] Like in like...
- Like has it happened? I guess, because like are you
seeking those spaces then? - [Nikki] I'm not
necessarily seeking them. If I am already aware that this is like, "Hey, this is for us not for you." I'm not gonna show up and be like yeah but like I'm a cool White person, but there are spaces that
we are not allowed in. I think that's okay. - No, it is okay. But if you're not actively seeking to be part of those circles, you're not being denied access to them. - [Lex] I will agree with that. - Which sure, and I like and I can say that maybe those are not the best examples but like I think especially because my social circles are
predominantly people of color, there are definitely
things where they're like, where I've had them be like this is not a conversation for you. And I'm like, "Okay." I have had those experiences. I'm okay with them. I wanna be clear. Like I think there should be spaces that aren't for me and that is okay, but they've existed and
they've been in my life. - I have just one really specific example. Otherwise I feel like in general, I'm not denied access because of my race just in my experience. But I had an ex whose
stepfather was wildly racist, like Nazi memorabilia, like
just insane individual. - [Corey] Oh my god. - I was never allowed over
her house because of him. And the one time that I kind of snuck in, he was staring at me through the window and I'll never forget that in my life, the way that man was staring
at me through the window and then cursed out his kids
for having me in the house. That man's now in prison
for doing god knows what but it's where he belongs. - I was looking for
funding for for my film and most of them are for colored people and I totally understand that, and there is like not many that I found that are for like everybody. My mind would be like,
"Damn, I cannot do it." Like I cannot apply to it, but from the other side I understand that the Black community, like you guys need to get
your movies out there. - If anything I feel like
I've been invited too much. You know I feel like I'm kind
of like a undercover agent where I'm like because
I talk a certain way or because I present myself a
certain way, they assume like, "Oh, I could say this in front of you." - 100%. - And I'm like, "What'd you say?" - [Corey] Exactly. (participants simultaneously talking) - [Kaylyn] I've never,
I never really been- - I'll say that too, I've
been tokenized so many times. - I'm like I don't want that. (participants simultaneously talking) - [Xaviaer] We need young
Black representation. And I'm like, "Yes, I'm gonna stay home." - [Kaylyn] Yeah. - [Producer] I am proud of my race. Three, two, one. - [Corey] I will go first
and I will stand 10 toes in. - I was just being ironic
to stand over there. (participants simultaneously talking) - I said, "Please no." I'm in tears. I cried a little bit. - [Xaviaer] I'll be a messy. - [Corey] And I'll just keep
it specific to my experience and what I know, as Black Americans we are
pretty much the top culture that gets replicated, referenced. People scoot in and scoot it out 'cause they wanna seem cool
and interesting and stuff, and I think that's so kind
of us to like kind of like being beaten down for so long and be kind of separated
from our African roots. Create names for ourselves,
culture, language around our identities as Black Americans and have that be a thing that's just reverberating
across the globe. I think that's so cute. Can never be replicated,
can never be understated, and I love that about it. - That was kind of the start
of my like thought process too, like just the basis of being
torn down so adamantly, so regularly for hundreds
of years in law even like it is insane that we are here today to even be on camera, to even be in a place
with other White people. Like it is a beautiful thing that we have been able
to flourish in such dirt like literal filth and grime that our ancestors had to go through, and even our grandparents
had to go through. Like in my eighth grade
yearbook I saw recently said like the south will rise again and this was 2015. So like this is such a day-to-day thing and I am proud to be Black, and it's hard to say that. Like it was hard to say that as a kid, or else I could be called in where I could be reprimanded. I feel so blessed to even
be able to think that. - Everybody needs to
be proud of their race and stop this like racist bullshit because like you could be
green, red, Black, White, Hispanic-like. It doesn't matter. - I agree with like what you're saying because my own personal belief is that at the basis of who we are is
that we're all just people. We're not a skin tone. But because of those before me, I now have to fight back against the idea that all White people are racist. I remember being in fourth grade and learning about the
Holocaust for the first time and saying I don't
wanna be German anymore. Meanwhile, my mother's
whole family is German. American history, you look
at things like slavery. You look at things like
Jim Crow law segregation. There is so much awful
stuff that has happened and is still happening in closeted ways that I cannot be proud
of the way that I look. - Yeah, for me like I
am proud of who I am, like who I grew up to be. Like I like who I am. But like if I were to say
I'm a proud White man, like I don't even know what that means. (participants laughing) Like there have been zero
racial hurdles in my life. Now, like I'm a proud gay man because like I've had to go through shit to get to where I am now. And you know, even to that point, so much of queer culture
comes from Black culture. So thank you. - You're welcome. (Lex laughs) - [Kaylyn] I wanna be proud
of the things I've done. The people who I've touched
whose hearts I've opened up. I feel like it's beyond our race. I feel like what it is is our experiences that make our light shine through. So that's what I'm
proud of actually, yeah. - I think that there's
a really big difference between being proud to be Black
and being proud to be White. So being proud of your
culture, beautiful thing. Like being proud to be Ukrainian. I'm proud to be Slavic. The Black community is different and the reason it's different is because their culture,
specifically Black Americans, their culture was stripped, like stripped away from them when they were brought over here. So then the culture became
being Black American. You're like the race became cultural. - I mixed that up sorry. - [Nikki] No, so I think that there's a really big difference between like I am proud of my people. My people are Slavic versus
I'm proud of my race. It just gets convoluted
because Black Americans, the race has become the culture because the culture was stripped away. - I also think oftentimes when
you talk about White pride versus Black pride, oftentimes Black pride
is rooted in like love and like perseverance of like culture, customs, language, and things like that. White pride is often
rooted in like Black hate, (indistinct) hate, Asian hate. So I think that's like
an interesting nuance to not overlook. - [Nikki] No, and I think
that's such an important point. I think there's a difference
between like I'm proud and therefore I'm better versus I am proud of
what we have overcome. - [Sarah] Yeah, and then the whole idea of White pride started with people who think the confederate
flag is personality trait. So how can I be proud of that flag? - I'm not saying that this
applies to any of you, but I meet a lot of White people, particularly White liberals
who will actively say that they're ashamed of being White. And that is wild to me, because how can you look at your past and because yes, your race did
terrible things in the past, but you shouldn't define yourself as that. If anything, you should
look in that and reflect. - So do you think White
people should be proud to be specifically White? - See, I think that's a
really nuanced question when you're White, because I think you
guys had the valid point of ethnicity is different 'cause like White isn't
a collective culture in the way that Black is because Black people have
been grouped together and have a similar experience. But like White, like Italian-American, you should definitely be proud
of being Italian-American. You should be proud of
being Slavic-American. You should be proud of your lineage. But just to say, "Oh,
I'm proud to be White." Like yeah, that has a
weird connotation to it because it's not a collective culture but what I really want to emphasize is that you should not be
ashamed of being White in the way that a lot of people are. - [Nikki] Yeah.
- Or maybe you should. (participants laughing) - I bet the it's on you. (participants laughing) (participants cheering and appluading) - Group hug! (participants cheering) - All lives matter. (indistinct shouting)
