Deconstructing Karen Documentary Offers Candid Discussion on Race

      Regardless of how uncomfortable your upcoming family gathering may be, we assure you it will be less awkward than the dinner depicted in *Deconstructing Karen*, a new documentary showcasing a group of white women confronting a candid discussion about race — just in time for the holiday season.

      In the spring of 2019, the creators of *Deconstructing Karen* invited a number of white women from the Denver area to a dinner led by entrepreneurs Regina Jackson and Saira Rao. Their company, Race2Dinner, provides honest evaluations of racial attitudes. As the cameras rolled, Rao, who is of Indian-American descent, informed the women that “white supremacy and racism are harmful to everyone, including white individuals,” as the guests nodded in assent. She then prompted them to introduce themselves. One woman expressed her desire for her children to grow up “colorblind.”

      “My kids are biracial,” another woman stated. “My husband is Hispanic and white. So I don’t see color... I’m blind to color. It doesn’t affect me at all. When we bleed, we bleed red.”

      Shortly thereafter, Rao addressed the group: “I’ve heard that a few times: colorblindness and not seeing color,” she noted. “And I’m just going to drop a truth bomb here: that’s white supremacy.” While Jackson nodded in agreement, several women appeared perplexed. “Colorblindness is white supremacy,” Rao reiterated.

      Cue the tense music as the bewildered mother of biracial children attempted to clarify her stance — and welcome to *Deconstructing Karen*, a documentary by filmmaker Patty Ivins Specht.

      Jackson and Rao began to attract significant attention for Race2Dinner after The Guardian published a February 2020 article titled “Why Liberal White Women Pay a Lot of Money to Learn Over Dinner How They’re Racist.” Interest surged following George Floyd’s murder, prompting more white individuals to reassess their actions and beliefs. Race2Dinner was featured in a segment by NBC’s *Today*, which noted that many of Rao and Jackson's dinners had transitioned online due to COVID. In 2021, The Cut published an article titled “Guilty Parties,” which mentioned that the price for each dinner had increased from $2,500 to $5,000.

      What *Deconstructing Karen* presents that prior media coverage lacks is an opportunity to be an observer at one of the dinners and to experience the often awkward dialogue. Some moments are eye-opening, while others feel like a slow-motion disaster. It’s hard to look away.

      “As the filmmaker, I could have portrayed people in a worse light,” Specht stated in a *MovieMaker* interview. “I held back on certain aspects that I thought weren't fair to some individuals, which I believe is important since everything is subjective. What’s shown in the film offers a very fair and honest representation of the events that transpired.”

      Jackson, who is Black, cites marching for Civil Rights in the 1960s and participating in presidential campaigns among her credentials.

      “Born in Chicago in 1950, Regina recalls an America that was entirely in Black and white,” her biography on the Race2Dinner website states. “She has vivid memories of the beatings and appalling treatment of civil rights activists across the South, the murders of Goodman, Chaney & Schwerner, the killing of Viola Liuzzo, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the deaths of President John Kennedy and his brother Robert. The violence inflicted upon innocent individuals simply living their lives, by white people, is etched in her mind.”

      In *Deconstructing Karen*, she mentions that the focus on white women at Race2Dinner is due to their ability to instigate change. “The demographic we’ve identified is white women who consider themselves liberal, progressive, or Democrat — to not only transform themselves, but to also begin changing their children, families, coworkers, and friends. The weight of white supremacy and patriarchy rests heavily on their shoulders, just as it does on ours,” Jackson articulates in the film.

      Rao’s biography notes that “for forty years, she wasted her valuable time trying to be white and accepted by the prevailing white society, an impossible endeavor for anyone not born with white skin.” A trained lawyer and published author, she also attempted a congressional run in 2018 that faltered due to a controversial tweet. She shared a New York Times op-ed titled “Should I Give Up On White People?” and responded, “Short and long answer: YES.” The backlash was considerable, and she later revealed that she had to leave Colorado due to death threats.

      Some viewers may disagree with various aspects of *Deconstructing Karen*: Is a woman who identifies as “colorblind” a white supremacist or merely someone trying to convey goodwill in an awkward manner? Specht believes the film can encourage people to engage in difficult conversations about race that they may otherwise avoid — even if they take issue with Rao and