Am I Racist?

Matt Walsh and the Daily Wire are not exactly known for exploring controversial topics in America. In What is a Woman? Walsh attempts to find the answer to the question, “What is a…” In his new film, Am I Racist? Walsh wonders if he is, in fact, a…

In Am I Racist? Matt Walsh earnestly attempts to immerse himself in the world and business of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—also known as DEI. The film opens with Walsh infiltrating an anti-racism seminar in hopes of winning over the speaker and the seminar’s participants. At one point, Walsh is thrown out of the meeting when his true identity is discovered, and the participants claim that they are “not safe” with him in the circle.

It’s here that Walsh goes full Borat in hopes of becoming a fully certified DEI expert and consultant—a title bestowed upon him after taking a few online courses. In an attempt to attain true anti-racist status, Walsh conducts interviews with Anti-Racism experts Kate Slater (creator of the Anti-Racism Roadmap), Race to Dinner’s Regina Jackson and Saira Rao (as seen in the film Deconstructing Karen), and the big catch author Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism).

After becoming fully DEI-certified, Walsh goes on local television to promote his seminar, Doing the Work Workshop—all to hilariously disastrous results.

While watching Am I Racist?, I get the sense that Matt Walsh isn’t taking the subject of racism in America seriously. His common sense approach to the subject of racial equality comes across as overly simplistic against the pseudo-intellectual word salads tossed up by the so-called diversity experts.

“I get the sense that Matt Walsh isn’t taking the subject of racism in America seriously.”

The film’s many highlights come when Walsh exposes the subtle contradictions of DEI. With expert Slater, she commends Walsh’s daughter for liking Disney’s Moana but cautions her about dressing like her for Halloween as this is cultural appropriation. He then becomes a white male ally at a Race to Dinner Session. There is a reparations bit that cannot be missed.

The main point that Walsh is trying to make is when he shows the grift that the diversity consulting industry has become. For example, how did Walsh get access to the famed diversity expert featured in the film? He paid for it—thousands of dollars—and, in one case, tens of thousands of dollars. Racism has become a lucrative business, and if racism is ever solved, many experts will find themselves out of work. As one expert in the film states, the “demand” for racism far exceeds the “supply” of racism in society today.

For the most part, Walsh’s gags work throughout the film. Like most political docs, the open-minded will benefit the most from what Walsh has to say, while Walsh’s DEI targets will have the most to complain about. Walsh fearlessly pulls no punches. He shows that many liberal and progressive white folks have fallen under the spell that they are racists and will always be racist. In contrast, others find themselves in a downward racial spiral for the “sins” of the Founding Fathers. Their work to become truly anti-racist will “never be enough.”

Walsh uses his trademark dry humor to point out these inconsistencies. Like your typical Borat film, the more uncomfortable the situation he creates, the better. Half the audience will laugh, and the other half will walk out. We call this “poking the bear.”

As a film, Am I Racist? is valuable because, over the last few decades, the United States has been closer to racial unity and acceptance than it has been since its founding. Ironically, Walsh shows that this unity is found the further you remove yourself from academia. The jury is out whether Am I Racist? is merely preaching to the choir or if some will take the red pill.