(By PAYTON-CIARRA MURPHY)

How African-American women negotiate and handle the skewed post-racial views of Hollywood is the focus of a new book that was in the spotlight during a recent talk at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Ralina L. Joseph headlined the annual Gender & Sexuality Lecture put on by UT’s Department of Radio-Television-Film. Her latest work, “Postracial Resistance: Black Women, Media and the Uses of Strategic Ambiguity,” is set in the very recent past and touches on post-racial resistance, microaggression and strategic ambiguity.

“Post-racialism is the myth that racism — and race — are relics of the past,” Joseph told those gathered Feb. 7 at UT’s Belo Center for New Media. “It leads to the silencing of any form of race-talk, or of forthrightly identifying racism.”

Joseph earned her doctorate in gender, women and sexuality studies at the University of Washington. She has written two books and is currently on a book tour for her latest release. Her book opens with multiple anecdotes of racism against women of color.

In the post-racial world, women of color are faced with strategic ambiguity where they may have to face biting their tongue in certain circumstances and be able to live freely in other circumstances. Joseph said she strives to redefine the meaning of strategic.

Joseph’s book focuses on black women who help with the post-racial environment by analyzing their words and painting the picture of strategic ambiguity.

The book strives to empower black women to stand with valor through the post-racial resistance of the present with advice, stories and endearing words from fellow women of color who have and have not been successful in the art of making a claim using language that avoids specifics.

Joseph opened with her favorite quote from Malcolm X: “Racism is like a Cadillac. They make a new one every year.” Her book is meant to empower and enlighten all people of every age and background to be aware of microaggression in our post-racial society.

The audience for Joseph’s lecture consisted of men and women from all backgrounds and age ranges. Many attendees were Joseph’s friends and previous colleagues. Others were gender, women and sexuality studies majors at UT as well as journalism majors.

The lecture hall was at capacity with many attendees standing in the back to hear Joseph’s words of education and encouragement.

“Strategic ambiguity is the main tool of post-racial resistance. It’s a way to speak back to racism — often without speaking at all,” Joseph said.