Blacks & Whites : The Role Identity & Neighborhood Action Game

Boxed board game (gameboard, instructions, 23 deeds, cards, dice, 4 black pawns, 5 white pawns, 26 cardboard "black power" strips, play money) ; box 30 x 23 x 6 cm. Very good. Contents loose in box with formed Styrofoam compartments. [1272]

A game designed to spread awareness of structural racism though role play. Blacks & Whites was created to highlight economic injustices against African Americans and to promote societal change. The original version, which made it impossible for the black players to win, was highly controversial. After testing the game further with multiracial participants, Psychology Today redesigned the scenario, issuing new rules that allowed black players to give extra bonus cards to a brother or sister, and encouraging solidarity between black players through property swapping and personal loans. Black players then became the agents of change and the game came to emphasize the absurdity of living in different worlds while playing on the same board. "Originally published as a free game insert (with paper board and unmounted cards that had to be cut out) in the March 1970 issue of Psychology Today magazine (which simultaneously advertised a version in a long cardboard box, with better components and play money, for $5.95), 'Blacks & Whites' was a socially-conscious game which not only reflected the signs of the times but was also meant to effect change. In a sense, it was something more akin to a social experiment and performance art in game form" --Boardgamegeek.com. Complete sets in good condition are extremely rare.