(LITTLETON, CO - September 28, 2009) -- Arapahoe Community College is hosting a traveling display about racial and ethnic stereotypes. Called "Racial & Ethnic Stereotypes: Fear and Fascination," the display can be seen in the second-floor student lounge in the Main Building through Oct. 30.

The display promotes awareness and discussion of the subject of racial and ethnic stereotypes. Viewers are requested to comment on the display, and those responses will be summarized and shared with the College community.

The display illustrates the history of American racial and ethnic imagery as portrayed in newspapers, magazines, advertisements and commercial logos. It focuses on depictions of Blacks, Native Americans, Latin Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Italians, Germans and Moslem peoples.

Display materials were researched, gathered and designed by David M. Hays, archivist, University of Colorado at Boulder, in 1991 through 1992, and were supplemented and reviewed by University of Colorado faculty and Boulder community members.

Connie Simpson, dean of Student Services at ACC, said: "We hope a healthy conversation results in an awareness of racial and ethnic stereotypes. This might be a good topic for writing or discussion in the classroom."

In response, the ACC Writers Studio plans to host a writer’s gallery on-line with the National Gallery of Writing through the National Council of Teachers of English. The link to the site is: http://galleryofwriting.org/start.php.

David Hays, archivist with the CU Norlin’s Western Historical Collections, said: "I would say racism is part of the human personality, and it’s something you either control or you don’t… It’s not going to end. It’s not fading away. It’s a facet of multi-ethnic culture."

The materials are on loan courtesy of the University of Colorado Libraries. The Main Building at Arapahoe Community College is located on College Drive between Sumner and Nevada Streets, just east of Santa Fe Drive in Littleton, CO. For more information contact Connie Simpson at 303.797.5601 or marsha.wooley@arapahoe.ed.