DISCUSS
LITTLE WHITE LIE presents an opportunity to talk about what factors—race, religion, family—make us who we are? Little White Lie manages to be both a particular family’s story, but also raises larger questions for us all. It is an excellent tool for outreach and will be of special interest to people interested in the following:
- African-American culture
- Biography
- Code-switching
- Coming of age
- Cultural competence
- Diversity
- Double consciousness
- Family Secrets
- Identity formation
- Inter-racial relations
- Jewish identity
- Standards of beauty
- Passing
- Race
The downloadable discussion guide is an invitation to dialogue. It is based on belief in the power of human connection, designed for people who want to use Little White Lie to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues and communities. The discussion prompts are intentionally crafted to help a wide range of audiences think more deeply about the issues.
Facing History has created a lesson plan on the complexity of identity using clips from Little White Lie.
RESOURCES
Books
- Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker
- Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and Identity by Lise Funderburg
- A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American, Allyson Hobbs
- Lovesong: Becoming a Jew by Julius Lester
- In Every Tongue: The Racial & Ethnic Diversity of the Jewish People by Diane Tobin, Gary A. Tobin and Scott Rubin
Articles
- Is Race for Real? Talking about Race
- Reading About Racial Boundaries by John Williams
- Teaching Tolerance: How White Parents Should Talk to Their Kids About Race. By Melinda Wenner Moyer
- White Debt by Eula Bliss
- White Millenials are Products of a Failed Lesson in Color Blindness” by Mychal Denzel Smith
Organizations
Websites & Projects
- Colorlines
- The Dishonesty Project
- Microaggressions Blog Project
- The Race Card Project
- Understanding Race
For more resources, please download the Little White Lie discussion guide above.
If you have suggestions for additional resources or materials, please email them to littlewhitelie@truthaid.org.
BE’CHOL LASHON RESOURCES
Be’chol Lashon is an organization that is expanding awareness of the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of Jews around the world. Be'chol Lashon is proud to be the excecutive producer of Little White Lie and sees the movie as an important tool to talk about differences in an age where intersectional identities are becoming the norm.
Be’chol Lashon facilitates workshops or more informal community conversations about many of the issues related to the film. Workshops, which can be adapted for a variety of audiences and age groups, include cultural arts, creative writing, and/or intergroup dialogue to help people communicate more effectively across lines of social identity and difference. For more information contact info@GlobalJews.org.
Click here to read Diversity In The Jewish Community, Journal of Jewish Communal Service
A second downloadable discussion guide was created by Be’chol Lashon in collaboration with the filmmaker. Click here for the Be'chol Lashon Little White Lie Discussion Guide