NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Poverty, drug addiction and prostitution in poor neighborhoods are the source of humor in Ghettopoly, a board game to be examined during a lunchtime forum at Vanderbilt University.
The event at 12:20 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, is titled "The Creators of Ghettopoly: David Chang, the Ghetto or the Media?" It is part of the Knowledge at Noon Lecture Series sponsored by the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center at Vanderbilt.
The forum in Room 203 of Alumni Hall is free and open to the public.
"At issue here is how far anyone should go in the direction of offending a potential interest group or groups in this country in the spirit of free speech or free trade," said Yollette Jones, acting director of the center. "It is equally important to determine what responsibility members of interest groups have in safeguarding their public image, which could, at any turn, be easily exploited."
The creator of Ghettopoly, David Chang, has said that he represents a variety of ethnic groups in his game and that rap music artists perpetuate similar stereotypes in their music without any outcry.
"Hip hop culture is what I gravitate towards, so naturally when I decided to make a game, I want to give it an urban edge," Chang writes in "A Message to the Haters," a message on the Ghettopoly website (www.ghettopoly.com). "I am sorry that my last name is of Asian descent. Maybe if my last name was different, some of you might not be so harsh."
Panelists for the forum will be Tony Brown, assistant professor of sociology at Vanderbilt; Jennifer Lena, assistant professor of sociology at Vanderbilt; and Tim Wise, senior adviser to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute and a social justice activist.
The Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center is named after the first African American student admitted to Vanderbilt. It sponsors events to examine diversity issues and build a sense of community for students at Vanderbilt.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu