Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
I dont think Ill be forgetting the first episode ofNice White Parentsanytime soon.
Few people at the gala are actually attached to the school.
Most were convened for the sake of their wealth.
But its what got us to this party thats damning.
In some cases, they evenworsenthe disparities, creating new miniaturized forms of segregation within the school itself.
They ultimately discover that to truly achieve their societal ambitions would rub against their individual self-interests.
So they abandon the desegregation project, often midway through the effort, leaving behind a half-formed world.
Or, just as often, they refashion the effort to meet their needs more specifically.
In the third episode, Joffe-Walt tries to point toward a possible path forward.
It almost never happens.
But then: It happens.
Or at least, it seems to.
Nice White Parents, then, wraps up as a story about activism and effective political mobilization.
Its a somewhat hopeful ending, but its optimism remains smartly measured, threaded with healthy skepticism.
Just how replicable is this?
There is, also, a broader grappling with the truths of the politics of it all.
Part of what made the activism work is a rigorous reshaping of the narrative … by white people themselves.
As a nonwhite person, I can see how this conclusion can be read as hopeful.
For what its worth, I dont think thats necessarily a bad thing.
If its able to actively change some nice white minds for the good fight, great.
Therearequestions that can be asked of the show, though.
Not a deal-breaker, but still, I felt it.
In any case, thats not the biggest question mark I have about the podcast.
But perhaps this moment of chaos is the most ripe for efforts to reframe narratives and realign incentives.
Perhaps this is the moment where nice white parents can really prove their worth.
