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| Diana Lalata Class of 2017 |
I don’t see color. I’m colorblind. I only see one race, and that is the human race. If you have spoken those words before, I am writing to you and for you. I, too, used to believe that not shedding light on racial differences would send racism crawling back into the shadows of the past.
I once viewed my “colorblindness” as effective in eliminating racism—to choose to not register skin color at all suggests that I could not possibly be racist, right? Wrong. Instead, as legal scholar, Neil Gotanda, argues, racial colorblindness “legitimates, and thereby maintains, the social, economic, and political advantages that whites hold over other Americans.” Put simply, racial colorblindness is the new racism.
In a perfect world where racial categories do not exist, and stereotypes and prejudices do not control the way in which we consciously (and subconsciously) view and treat other human beings, “colorblindness” may be effective—but certainly would never be needed in such a utopian society. The reality is that we live in a vibrantly colorful world that thrives with different cultures and people of multiple shades of brown, each with their own past, present, and future. “Race” is more than just skin pigmentation. “Race” is a social construct that carries personal, social, and historical effects.
To claim “colorblindness” is to not only take away the beauty of my identity along with the identities of other people of color, but to invalidate past discrimination, present racist experiences, and any hope for the future in celebrating a truly integrated and equal society that appreciates multiculturalism. To not see color is to be disconnected from the ever-present legal and cultural obstacles that people of color face on a daily basis in a world that privileges white skin as the “norm” and has long ingrained a sense of racial hierarchy that chains “non-whites” to oppression.
Yet the rejection of “colorblindness” as a way to eradicate racism is difficult, as many of us have been trained from an early age to avoid talking about race, and legal scholars have strongly advocated for the removal of race as a factor in political matters (see: Justice Roberts’ majority opinion in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District, No. 1). “Colorblindness” offers an escape from discomfort and tension that stem from the mere mention of race, much less the systemic issue of racism. But if you can’t discuss a problem, how can you even begin to solve it?
Although progress has been made towards achieving racial equality since the Civil Rights Movement, racism is still alive and well today. Racial “colorblindness,” the contemporary form of racism, has harmed many people of color by exercising implicit and covert racist practices in housing, education, employment, voting, and more. Instead of hiding behind a “colorblind” lens, we must approach social issues from a critical and color-conscious perspective. We can only move forward if we challenge ourselves to first, see color, and then celebrate the beauty behind the racial differences that make up our diverse and colorful world.
For more information about the ideology of “colorblind racism” and examples, please refer to the links below:
“Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States”: https://anth1001.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/eduardo_bonilla-silva_racism_without_racists_color-blind_racism_and_the_persistence_of_racial_inequality_in_the_united_states_2nd_edition__2006.pdf
“Microaggressions in the Workplace”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/khanh-ho/microaggressions-in-the-w_b_8265564.html?utm_hp_ref=workplace-discrimination
“Housing discrimination still prevalent, but more subtle, study finds”: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-11/business/chi-housing-discrimination-20130611_1_housing-discrimination-hispanic-renters-7-percent
“Segregation Prominent in Schools, Study Finds”: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/education/segregation-prominent-in-schools-study-finds.html
“Is North Carolina’s Strict Voter-ID Law Constitutional?”: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/is-north-carolinas-strict-voter-id-law-constitutional/426978/
Diana Lalata is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She studies political science, English, Spanish, and social change.