Opinion on: “I don’t see race.”

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:warning: Disclaimer :warning:

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The following content contains material

that may be triggering or sensitive

subjects for some readers.

If you are sensitive to topics of racism,

reader discretion is advised.

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Sources of information have been credited,

to the best of my abilities. Some information

is directly quoted from its sources.

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This is an opinion blog. I do make blogs that

are meant to be purely educational or

informative; however, this blog is not one.

In this blog I will be arguing why I believe that

the phrase “I don’t see race,” and the approach

to racism, racial relations, etc., that it echos,

is problematic and should be remedied.

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Introduction

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“Never trust anyone who says they do not see

color. This means to them, you are invisible.”

— Nayyirah Waheed (Poet)

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I’ll get straight to the point: though largely

well-intentioned, the concept of a

”colorblind” society leaves people

without the vocabulary to address race

and explore their own prejudices.

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Jane Elliot, an American diversity educator

and schoolteacher, worded it well.

”People do see color. What we have to do

is say it’s all right to see color, just don’t see

it as a negative. Give up that part of your

psychology or your philosophy or your

education.” [1]

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But some quote from Jane Elliot obviously

isn’t enough evidence to drive home my point.

So today, I’ll be go in depth on why the

approach of “color blindness” as an answer

to racism not only fails to fix the issue, but

in actuality, makes things worse.

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Definitions

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Race is defined as “a category of

humankind that shares certain distinctive

physical traits.” [2]

The term was first used to refer to

speakers of a common language and

then to denote national affiliations. By the

17th century, the term began to refer to

physical (phenotypical) traits. [3]

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The term “ethnicities,” is more broadly

as “large groups of people classed

according to common racial, national,

tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural

origin or background.” [4]

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”Color,” in of race-related

conversations, refers to the actual, literal

color of someone’s skin.

Basically, Race discrimination is based

on ancestral or cultural characteristics;

whereas Color is based on the actual color

of someone’s skin, and can occur between

persons of different and/or the same race. [4]

For example, a man’s race may be black,

while his color may be brown.

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The phrase “I don’t see race” (or “color,” as

referring to race) is often meant as meaning

”race doesn’t matter to me,” or “I don’t

discriminate against someone based on race.”

However, many frown upon the phrase,

believing it to be a poor choice of wording.

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Prevelance

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According to a 2014 study done in

partnership with MTV and David Binder

Research, almost three-fourths of the

millennials surveyed believed that we

should not see the color of someone’s skin,

as though whether or not we see their

color is a choice.

Nearly 70% of said millennials surveyed

believed they had already achieved this

and were now actually “colorblind” (in

of race); and the same percentage

even believed that we make society better

by not seeing race or ethnicity.

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However, Dr Osagie Obasogie, a professor

at the University of California’s Hasting

College of Law and the author of, “Blinded

by Sight: Seeing Race Through the Eyes

of the Blind,” spent nearly eight years

researching “race blindness.”

What he discovered is that even people

who have never had sight (AKA, ACTUAL

blind people), still used visual

representations of people – including a

person’s perceived racial or ethnic

identity – as a major marker for how they

interact with them.

In Obasogie’s interviews, he found that

blind people use non-visual cues to

determine race when meeting a new

person. They combine evidence from their

other senses – hair texture, accent and

other markers (with varying degrees of

reliability) – to create an understanding of

someone’s racial identity. And once a

blind person figured out a new

acquaintance’s race, they would treat

that person accordingly.

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Issue 1: Inaccurate

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People often like to use the phrase,

”I don’t see color,” to explain that they

are not prejudiced and embrace diversity.

The idea of not seeing skin-color is nice

in theory, but in actuality it’s inaccurate.

Anyone who is able to see can discern

and recognize one skin color from the next.

To say you don’t see color is a misnomer.

(Unless, of course, you are actually, LITERALLY

blind and/or colorblind.)

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How can you possibly fix something that

is caused by an issue you don’t believe

you actually even see?

A person’s goal should not to be color-blind

— rather, their goal should be to actually

see and recognize skin color, but to control

and regulate their innate impulse to make

decisions based on traits of that sort.

Being able to first recognize this is critical.

We all see color. To say one doesn’t is

just not accurate. Instead, we have to

recognize that each of us, no matter our

color, have preconceived notions and

expectations about different racial

groups. Recognition and acknowledgment

are crucial to fixing racial tensions.

It is okay to see color; however,

decision-making should not be based

on such characteristics. [Edit1]

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As one article puts its, “Instead of

being blind to race, “color blindness”

makes people blind to racism, unwilling

to acknowledge where its effects have

shaped opportunity or to use

race-conscious solutions to address it.”

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Issue 2: Pretending

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During a 2005 interview with Mike Wallace

for television’s 60 Minutes news

magazine program, Award-winning actor

Morgan Freeman maintained that the

way to get rid of racism was to,

”stop talking about it.”

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However, as one article explains,

”By the time I was 16 or 17, though, Mr.

Freeman and I were of the same mind:

I often told people I didn’t want to be seen

or thought of as “black” before anything

else... I was just Kathryn...

... I thought this mindset fit for many years...

Now, let me be clear: I did have a point.

Morgan Freeman has a point. The desire

he and I were voicing is valid and true

and deserves attention... [but] I realized

that what I and Morgan Freeman were

practicing was erasure.”

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Americans, in particular, are infatuated

by the idea that you can stop being or

avoid being racist simply by pretending to

be colorblind, or by treating others fairly

in a ive manner.

During his brief run for president, for

example, Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz

insisted, "I honestly don't see color," as a

way of demonstrating his lack of

personal racism.

But, as author explains, as American

University professor, Ibram X. Kendi, explains,

”... when “a person says that they are

colorblind, to me that means they are blind

to racism, and they're blind to differences...

people who say they don't see race are,

"not seeing the diversity of humanity,

whether that diversity is about skin color,

or hair texture, or culture."

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Additionally, Kendi argued that, “Some

integrationists can't imagine the idea that

you would have white kids going into

black schools and learning black culture.

That's not a goal to them, because they

view the white school and white culture

as inherently superior. And so integration

for them becomes a one-way street, [from]

nonwhite to white.”

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Jane Elliot, an American diversity educator

and schoolteacher who became well-known

for her "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise,

elaborates on the issue: click here

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Issue 3: Erasure

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Another reason why the phrase,

”I don’t see color,” is counterproductive is

because it minimizes the particular

disparities and experiences that

different ethnic groups have to deal with.

Each of us is different, and saying that

one of the most clear-as-day

characteristics about a person is something

you ignore is dismissive and trivializing.

In a perfect world, skin color would not

be a factor in our decision-making — but

the unfortunate reality is that it is.

Accepting this reality will allow each of

us to not only recognize the stereotypes

we have adopted and normalized, but to

also make conscious steps towards

changing them.

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It is also important to recognize and

understand that people of color can hold

negative stereotypes about the dominant

group but can also internalize the

stereotypes of their own group.

Saying you don’t see color disregards

the privilege and power of the dominant

racial group of society, therefore

diminishing feelings of bias, prejudice,

and racism people have experienced.

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As one article says, “When you say I

don’t see color, you are not doing me a

favor. It’s as if you are telling me my

brown skin is something you have to

work to look past, to excuse even, in order

to see my humanity. I want you to see my

color as much as I want you to notice

anything else about me. So please, go

ahead and see my color. See me.”

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Additionally, another black writer said,

”The “I don’t see color” folks can stick

their collective heads in the sand

somewhere else. I, for one, will not

compromise my identity as a Black man

in order to absolve America of the racism

upon which this great nation was founded...

... It’s too late in American history to play

innocent. It’s time to wake up and face

the reality of race... please don’t pretend

that when you see us, you don’t see

color. We know you do — you know it, too.

And that’s perfectly fine...

... Pretending race doesn’t exist or isn’t

important doesn’t cancel out centuries of

Black and White, turning it into one shade

of gray. Who wants to live in a monochromatic

world anyway?...

... To accept Black people is to respect

the uniqueness of the Black experience

— not to pretend race and racism are

illusions, unworthy of being discussed or

even acknowledged...

... And we won’t be whitewashed to

some fake, packaged version of

White and woke that hangs on a trite, tired

cliché. If you don’t see color, you’re blind.”

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Issue 4: Upholds Racism

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Research has shown that the approach /

mindset of being “colorblind” in of race,

actually propagate existing racial inequities.

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As writer Zach Stafford puts it,

”Race is such an ingrained social construct

that even blind people can ‘see’ it. To

pretend it doesn’t exist to you erases the

experiences of black people.”

(Although I should note that, while I agree

with Stafford’s general meaning behind

his statement, I would stretch the point

further than just to black purple, but also

to other minorities, as well (such as Indians,

indigenous peoples, asians (eastern,,

northern, southern, central, etc.,),

latinos/latinas, marginalized europeans,

middle-eastern peoples, hispanics, etc.,).)

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Stafford goes on to also state that:

”’Colorblindness’ doesn’t acknowledge the

very real ways in which racism has existed

and continues to exist, both in individuals

and systemically.

By professing not to see race, you’re just

ignoring racism, not solving it.”

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Better Approach

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So, what is a better way to approach Racism?

The simple answer: acknowledging race

and racial differences, but understanding

that being different isn’t a bad thing.

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Additionally, some more positive, actually

helpful things you can do include:

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1.) Understand White Privilege

The term “White privilege” is nuanced,

and it is not meant to say that successful

White people do not work hard or earn their

accomplishments. Rather, it merely means

that we have an advantage throughout

our lives because we are White — that

advantage being that we, as our race is not

a marginalized group, we do not nearly as

often face prejudice, or deal with systematic

racial discrimination, as a result of our race.

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2.) Recognize Unconscious Bias

Ask yourself questions such as, “How do I

perceive other races or cultures?” and

“Do I make any assumptions about other

people subconsciously, based on race,

culture, or ethnicity?”

You can also read books such as,

“Overcoming Bias,” by Dr. Tiffany Jana,

which details ways you can recognize your

implicit biases, and work towards

remedying them.

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3.) Eductate Yoursef on the History and Its Impact on Society Today

Race is a social construct.

In fact, according to the National Genome

Institute of Research, scientifically, it is

estimated that we are 99.9% genetically the

same as a human race.

The only reasons various races look

different is based on where our ancestors

lived and the weather they had to endure,

which their outer appearance adjusted to.

Racism was created as a tool to divide us

and to justify the treatment of certain

people as “other.”

But by taking the time to understand the

history of racism, you will gain a better

understanding of how we got to where we

are today.

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5.) Be an Ally

While we did not personally create the

systems that led to systemic racism, it’s up

to all of us to work together to correct our

systems that negatively impact minorities.

Just because you’re white doesn’t mean

you can’t bring awareness to racism that

happens to other races, so long as you are

willing to share the stage with people of

said groups.

Being Indian doesn’t mean you can’t talk

about racism against black people.

Being White doesn’t mean you can’t talk

about racism against Native Americans.

Being Asian doesn’t mean you can’t talk

about racism against Middle-Eastern

people.

Again, just be willing to share the stage,

and to do you part to amplify others’ voices.

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6.) Hold Others able.

If someone you know, even a friend or a

a family member, says something racist or

otherwise problematic, call them out and

inform them about why what they said was

wrong or not helpful.

Do so, so long as you don’t threaten your

own safety, because people need to be held

able — and sometimes, people just

aren’t aware that there’s an issue, and need

someone else to point it out to them.

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7.) Understand Your Words

Just because you mean something a certain

way, doesn’t mean it will always be taken

that way. It is important to be aware of the

context and history behind certain phrases

and , as using the wrong ones can

give people the wrong impression.

While you are not responsible for the way

society views you, in order to properly

get the message across, you may have to

cater to your audience. Speak their language.

Convey your point in a way they will be able

to understand and not misconstrued.

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8.) Appropriation V.S. Appreciation

Know the difference between the two.

• Appreciation is when someone seeks to

understand and learn about another

culture in an effort to broaden their

perspective and connect with others

cross-culturally.

• Appropriation, on the other hand, is

simply taking one aspect of a culture that

is not your own and using it for your own

personal interest or benefit.

Often the people doing the appropriating

belong to a privileged group, while the

people they take from belong to an

oppressed or marginalized group.

Cultural Appropriation leads to a narrow

look at other cultures and exploitation of

those cultures.

In contrast, Appreciation involves a desire

for knowledge and deeper understanding

of a culture, and provides an opportunity

to share ideas and cultural awareness. [Edit2]

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