Airdate: White People

Next week MTV screens the documentary White People, by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas.

The doco explores race, whiteness and how young white people perceive their racial identity in an increasingly multicultural nation.

The film was produced in collaboration with Vargas’s non-profit, Define American, which uses the power of stories to transcend politics and shift the conversation around immigrants, identity and citizenship in a changing America. White People premieres 22nd September at 8.30pm on MTV.

White People follows Vargas across the country as he uncovers the stories of five young white people from varying backgrounds, as well as many more young people who participated in conversations about race at their local schools and community centres.

“The need for an honest and open conversation about the roles race and white privilege play in our society is more needed than ever,” said Jose Antonio Vargas, founder of Define American and founder/editor of #EmergingUS, which is an upcoming digital magazine in partnership with the Los Angeles Times that will cover race, immigration and identity, as well as white Americans as an emerging racial minority.

Vargas added, “Race is a sensitive subject no matter who you are and our goal with the documentary is to treat each person, story and community featured in the documentary with the utmost respect, all while exploring what race means to them.”

Tuesday 22nd September at 8.30pm on MTV.