The Dangers of Colorblind America

Hahne, C. (2014, June 1). How to Research Race? Or not….. Retrieved from http://nicole-renee.com/actionresearchineducation/2014/06/01/how-to-research-race-or-not-connie-hahne/

As racism has become less acceptable today in the United States society, the dominant conversation surrounding racism is usually one focused on colorblindness. The cartoon above accurately represents the kind of thinking that drives the colorblindness ideology. It has become common for people to say that they "don't see color" and "are colorblind". When someone says that they are colorblind, their intentions are to not seem racist. Saying that you are colorblind means that you do not see race. According to Psychology Today, colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture or ethnicity. The colorblind perspective has left institutional racism in the past and now sees equal opportunity. This perspective however, is extremely counterproductive. The color blind ideology functions to legitimize practices that maintain racial inequalities and creates a long list of consequences. 

As colorblindness becomes a more normalized ideology, it is clear that it only serves to maintain white privilege. It allows white people to believe that segregation and discrimination as no longer prevalent issues in society, and serves to remove white guilt. This view also works to keep minorities at the bottom of the racial hierarchy by creating the belief that opportunity has no color, social economic and political power are shared across races, and that anyone has the same chance to be successful as long as they work hard enough. 

To be blunt, the colorblind ideology is racist. It essentially tells people of color that they are not seen and that their disadvantages do not exist, and do not matter. Rather than keeping this belief, the American society needs to begin the shift from colorblindness to multicultural where everyones differences will be recognized and valued. Although it will not be easy, we can't risk continuing along this path. 

Course Reference: Gallagher, C.A. (2003). "Color-blind privilege." In Andersen, M. L., & Collins, P. H. (2019). Race, class, and gender: intersections and inequalities (pp 62-66). Boston, MA: Cengage.