Families swap race on ‘Black.White.’

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Revealing statements, clashes
The housemates have revealing, sometimes heated clashes over their attitudes on race and the use of volatile epithets. One confrontation pits the black father, adamantly opposed to the “n-word,” against his unconcerned teenage son.

For his part, Marcotulli consistently clings to his belief that any individual can erase bias by dint of sheer will and optimism.

Outside the house, attitudes are mostly, but not always, subtly expressed. In black makeup, Rose gets the brushoff when she applies for work at stores in a white area. One shopkeeper glances in a drawer and unconvincingly announces she’s out of job applications.

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Sitting in as a white woman on a focus group discussion on race, Renee Sparks is shocked to hear a young college student relate how he was cautioned to wash off the handshake of a black person.

“I thought, here it is, 2005, and people are still teaching their kids this,” Sparks said in a recent interview with reporters.

Larry E. Davis, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center on Race and Social Problems, lauds the series’ concept. “Black Like Me” was a powerful work in its day; projects like “Black.White.” have potential value for now, he said.

“It will bring [issues of race] into a context and a time frame and a reality that a new generation can comprehend, can relate to and understand,” Davis said. The goal is to “keep hammering away, hammering way, hammering away at the problem.”

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