Is Being Colorblind Just Another Form of Racism?
For years now, I’ve heard many people say that they are “colorblind” in an attempt to prove they are not racist. Usually, this is followed by a statement explaining that they don’t see a person’s color because at the core we’re all human. While it sounds good on the surface, people who profess colorblindness have always made me a little uncomfortable.
While we are, in fact, human, we can’t escape the role race and ethnicity plays in our lives. Although race is socially constructed, our ethnicities, nationalities, race, and cultural experiences inform who we are as people, and discounting those experiences under the guise of a colorblindness just doesn’t feel right to me. After all, recognizing and acknowledging each other’s differences isn’t a step back, but rather a step toward true inclusion.
Recently, Psychology Today took a look at the ideology behind being racially colorblind. In the article, “Colorblind Ideology Is A Form of Racism,” Dr. Monica Williams argues that refusing to acknowledge the racial and ethnic differences of others is a form of racism.
Williams writes:
At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — really taking MLK to task on his call to judge people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It focuses on commonalities between people, such as their shared humanity.
However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to heal racial wounds on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that in the end operates as a form of racism.
She breaks it down:
In a colorblind society, Whites, who are unlikely to experience disadvantages due to race, can effectively ignore racism in American life, justify the current social order, and feel more comfortable with their relatively privileged standing in society (Fryberg, 2010). Most minorities, however, who regularly encounter difficulties due to race, experience colorblind ideologies quite differently. Colorblindness creates a society that denies their negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives.
Let’s break it down into simple terms: Color-Blind = “People of color — we don’t see you (at least not that bad ‘colored’ part).” As a person of color, I like who I am, and I don’t want any aspect of that to be unseen or invisible. The need for colorblindness implies there is something shameful about the way God made me and the culture I was born into that we shouldn’t talk about. Thus, colorblindness has helped make race into a taboo topic that polite people cannot openly discuss. And if you can’t talk about it, you can’t understand it, much less fix the racial problems that plague our society.
If colorblindness isn’t the answer to dealing with racism, Williams argues what many of us have always known: Multiculturalism is the answer.
Learning about the culture, practices, and nuances of another’s culture does more to stem the tide of racism than simply ignoring our differences. Through multiculturalism, Williams argues, we can celebrate our differences while acknowledging the difficult racial pasts of others.
What do you think? Do you think colorblindness is a form of racism? Speak on it!
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this would would actually be an appropriate discussion for our non-bw lurkers to join.
I believe so. It’s just another way of people denying that racism really doesn’t exist, and it’s all in one’s mind. I find that colorblind people are just too lazy to do the hard work and examine what is really wrong with this country.
Sometimes when this “colorblind” term is used i feel like is equal to saying oh I can’t be racist I have black friends. Come on now let’s be realistic, I don’t care how far we have evolved you will always see race, because it is apart of one’s being. Someone saying they don’t see color is like them saying they’re “genderblind” oh I don’t see male or female, we’re all the same lol come on now let’s keep it funky
sorry perhaps I should have said sex instead of gender, since we’re being so “politically correct” nowadays
Actually it is a form of white privilege which helps continue the legacy of systemic racism. I often hear white folks make this claim. They can because they are not victims of systemic racism. They even explain that they don’t see anyone taking advantage of being white. They don’t know that privilege is invisible to the bearer of said privilege.
I have several white colleagues who make this claim. When I point out their privilege they deny it and claim that I am calling them racist which I am not. The sad thing is that we are all taught that racism is just the KKK and a few people throwing around derogatory terms. Racism is power + bigotry. That is the racism we have to combat.
omg english people love this phrase, they use it all the time. racism in england is not as obvious and in your face as in america but it exists. if you question any white person on it they will deny deny and will say one of these 12 things.
1. oh i dont see colour
2. why are people still taking about race its 2011
3. im not a racist i hate all races equally
4. ihave a mixed race cousin
5. i have dated black guys before
6. oh i love patrik from eastenders (black character from an english soap)
7. black people can also be racist
8. i have suffered from racsim myself
9. anyone can be racist.
10. its 2011 in case you did not know racism is over
11.stop bringing it up all the time jeez
12. the race card again?
Your list made me laugh. It never fails to amaze me how many people think “I hate all races equally” is fresh and original.
LMAO! It’s so funny to know that white people from other countries have the same “I’m not racist” script as the ones in America
Be very, very wary of a white person who says they are colorblind especially if they are someone you are about to get into a relationship with, because they are lying to themselves and thus to you. They have already begun the process of cutting off communication with you and even healing together with you from many of these ills of society and you want to make sure that no matter who your honey is you’ve got a road dawg for life. This “colorblind” person will be the person who later on when angry and you bring up something they said or someone said or did that might be a little racist that you are pulling the race card. This is a person who has already given up on themselves and you. At the very heart of it, pure love is how it should be, so I understand why people would say this but there’s usually a lot to work through before getting to this state. The very word, colorblind, really does suggest there is so much a person is refusing to see. It’s sweet, it’s hopeful, but it’s also arrogant.
so ture, tots agree with what you are sayin. english people love this phrase, they use it all the time. racism in england is not as obvious and in your face as in america but it exists. if you question any white person on it they will deny deny and will say one of these 12 things.
1. oh i dont see colour
2. why are people still taking about race its 2011
3. im not a racist i hate all races equally
4. ihave a mixed race cousin
5. i have dated black guys before
6. oh i love patrik from eastenders (black character from an english soap)
7. black people can also be racist
8. i have suffered from racsim myself
9. anyone can be racist
10. its 2011 in case you did not know racism is over
11.stop bringing it up all the time jeez
12. the race card again?
that’s a very comprehensive list arlette. i must add the, ” i don’t care if you’re white, black, yelllow or purple…” line. i’ve read that often in the us
Exactly and over here in the U.S. we get the “oh but the President is black” thing. It’s like “Colorblind” people know how insidious racism is that they are really powerless to acknowledge it and address it on a much deeper level. The best white friends(any friend, really) are those who will be your allies the ones who will say I am listening. because they respect that you prolly know what you are talking aobut since you are the one on the recieiving end. What is needed is healing. I can’t have close white friends in my life if they don’t want to grow and heal alongside with me. My motto is, “If you are colorblind, stay away from me.” Openly acknowledge the ignorances and prejudices,( unconscious or otherwise) that you may have just by being born into this world and fed racist BS from jump.
@arlette the above was in response to what you wrote.
I’m a 70 year-old retired ‘white guy’ who writes for a living. I stumbled upon Clutch Magazine the other day, and i’m hooked.
I don’t think that ‘colorblindness’ is a form of racism. Instead, I think that it’s a form of passive denial. If anything, I believe that it is some people’s way of leveling the playing field so that more serious, sincere dialogue can ensue.
I believe that we are all (unfortunately) labeled within minutes of being born. We didn’t CHOOSE our religion, we were born into it. My color was predetermined during conception , so that was already cut-and-dried at birth. Once all of the labels are affixed, and we are finally determined to be “what we are,” the comparisons begin. Until then, black and white don’t mean anything, or tall/short, blue eyed/brown eyed, rich/poor, or Protestant/Catholic/Jewish. We just lie there and our parents, relatives and culture take over. We are taught to differentiate, prejudge and above-all, conform.
I have good friends who are Chinese, from India, and Milwaukee; and, they are first of all, friends. Their race and nationality doesn’t matter to me, but I never saw this as being ‘colorblind.”
thank you white man for providing the exact example of the problem.
white privilege is invisible to white people. that is, they do not care to see it.
the first line of defense of the racist is denial.
“I have good friends who are Chinese, from India, and Milwaukee; and, they are first of all, friends. Their race and nationality doesn’t matter to me, but I never saw this as being ‘colorblind.”
—
This is a great example of the “passive denial” you speak of. The fact that “their race and nationality” don’t matter to you is disrespectful. Your white privilege allows to ignore their cultures. You can respect that they are different and still value them for the people they are. Otherwise it come off you’re pulling the same colorblind crap that upholds racism, by making them your token friends.
Dude, did you read this at all? Because you truly just proved EVERYTHING that everyone’s been saying. See, this is the worst part about trying to talk to someone about racism: you give them the facts and they still WILLFULLY choose to ignore what’s right in their faces, or (in the case of a real-time example) play it off like racism isn’t really the reason. GTFOH with that shit! Excuse my language but this got me super riled up.
Also religion isn’t something you’re born with. It’s true that what you follow my depend on the family you’re born into, but it’s something you have the choice to change.
LOL Thanks for proving our point.
damn @Dave
you were good until you made the obvious statement about your “friends”
please see their differences, embrace and learn from them. Ignoring their differences does not make them go away.
People that say they are colorblind are actively ignoring a problem that is large scale by making it personal. It’s an attempt to win points with people of color. I don’t think they want to be racist, but everyone who has said this to me follows that statement with a racist one. I laugh at their attempt and shake my head at their ignorance. Nice Try but I’ve already given up on white people and their sorry attempts, no matter how nice they are. The best they can say is they don’t understand what it’s like to be a person of color and leave it at that.
From my experience, the “I am colorblind and I only think there is one race: the human race” tagline has come from a former friend of mine, who was a black person.
Now I tried to commend her for the ‘utopic mindset and lifestyle’ that she had, but I always thought that she was disillusioned and in denial, as well as, out of touch with reality. I understood where that mindset cultivated from (her parents and the heavily Caucasian-dominated community that she lived in), but I thought she needed to get a grip on reality.
Saying colorblind isn’t the same as proclaiming color-equality. We will never be ethnically equal simply because we are different. It can be both positive and negative. Same with gender. Women are not men and vice versa therefore will never be equal regardless of opportunity granted.
If white people want to claim they are down with the brown, let em. It wasn’t too long ago that they were singing a different tune. Racism has progressed… and I dunno maybe it is just suppressed. We live in a passive aggressive era with technology and all. We will always be offended because the hurt of our ancestors is within us. But we don’t have to carry their burden, they fought for us to take the humanity approach. Be aware, but don’t let it define what could be.
It’s interesting that you think there is nothing to fight for. With the highest unemployment rate,poverty, police brutality still very high in the black community. interesting no one ever puts out the numbers of how many black men were killed every year at the hands of police officers.
Racism doesn’t define me…by saying that there is still work to do that Dr. King spoke of doesn’t make me or anyone who knows that… racist. There were many non black people apart of the civil rights movement…remember.
I feel like this topic is a little twisted. I don’t know any white people who go around saying they are colorblind. lol It’s usually black people that want to pretend that racisim doesn’t exsist to cover things that they are doing or not doing.
@2012 Chocolate
“I feel like this topic is a little twisted. I don’t know any white people who go around saying they are colorblind. lol It’s usually black people that want to pretend that racisim doesn’t exsist to cover things that they are doing or not doing.”
Thank you for this! I was thinking the same thing while reading the article and the comments. This ‘colorblindness’ is usually discussed along with interracial dating. I always hate hearing that. You can be with someone of a different race if you want to, but does that mean that you can’t acknowledge and appreciate the differences? I was reading on a blog written by a black girl married to a white guy where she along with some commenters vehemently backed this ‘colorblindness’ stating that they forget that they are of different races – some even indicating that they never noticed…………… ummm yeah. Ok.
It’s like saying “post-racial” or if you’re just on some extremist tip… “reverse racism”…
It just another way to discriminate without calling you out of your name in most cases.
I agree with 100% with the article and some of the comments but hesitate to narrow the focus to just race. You will not get a short supply of black people and people of color in general who subscribe to this ideology because they themselves benefit from the system or have found a way to navigate through it. They are the ones to hold up examples of those who “made it” as example of systematic change instead of seeing it as anomalies. I say a healthy dose of class status can be injected into this as well. Funny enough I see this ideology as more of a problem with places like Europe, and latin American countries who swear they see no race than the United States whose confrontational nature on race makes it more progressive.
One thing I noticed about people saying they are color-blind are really just that…but up to a point. They will say it and mean it- that is until their son or daughter dates outside of their race. Then it becomes a whole different story…
Basically she saying White people must suck up to “people of color” so we’re not considered “racist.”
This is typical White hate. In fact, the whole business of “racism” revolves around “hating Whitey.”
Americans are fast getting sick of these pseudo-intellectuals and media elites and this never-ending “PC” multicult gibberish. Go ahead, call me a “racist” and the whole host of names you have for Whites who stand up for our race. That’s all you can do, attack White people. We are rapidly getting to the point where we will not take it any longer.
You are Nation Wreckers, pure and simple.
I sincerely doubt you will have the guts to put this up, which would be typical of your tactics.
You know…your statements would have credibility were it not for the fact that your website has links to Stormfront and David Duke. So that renders your point fairly useless and shows the true colors behind your rant. I find it rather strange that you have an extreme dislike for Black people, but are posting on a Black website. Oh yeah, tell David Duke I said “Hi”, LMAO!!!!
Blacks are nation wreckers?
Ok
How do you think the people of Iraq, Pakistan Afganistan, Palestine (too name a current few) would respond if we said whites are nation builders who bring peace and prosperity to the lands they invade?
No one’s impressed by the white man’s anger, so get lost. You’ve racked up too many crimes against humanity to be making threats about what you will tolerate no longer.
Do you really think the world is to going tolerate white aggression forever?
Shut up you stupid little man.
“People of color” have turned into spoiled little brats, who blame every problem on “evil Whitey man putting them down.”
You can’t even look at them the wrong way, before they start screaming “racism.”
Now, Dr. Monica Williams tells us we have to kiss up to them every minute of every damn day. No matter what.
I guess “people of color” are just so perfect, huh?
so why are you here?
Please elaborate.
Colour blind -
what a crock of verbal sophistry that is. In the mouths of whites ‘colour blind’ = I want colour to be irrelevent when being white does not offer me any adavantage.
It’s similar to the ‘best person for the job’ argument against positive discrimination (Affirmative Action).
‘Best person for the job’ is pretend equality, that sets up a false level playing field in which race is immaterial and all candidates will be judged purely on their ability to do the job.
But the mere fact that you’re trying to find “the best” means you have to DISCRIMINATE and by necessity find a reason to discount all but one of the candidates.
It is in that process that ‘best person for the job’ is not a level playing for ethnic minorities because it ignores the racial barriers to opportunity they must find a way to overcome.
A black man may be the best for person for the job, on all criteria, and still not get it because he’s black.
Another one is “oppose the war but support your troops”. (wtf??)
Ignoring the fact that the troops are the instrument of war.
“The troops defend our “freedom”.
Ignoring the fact that the troops have been used many times to crush domestic protest for basic rights, both in Britain and the US.
Better stop there before they ban me forever – and silence my FREEDOM OF SPEECH . . . to dissent from conventional fictions such as those I’ve outlined above and -
the fiction of FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
Happy New Year.
damn, you are maladjusted!
@James
Yes I am healthy man in an unhealthy society. Btw people who kill people on orders are who the world needs protection from. That was for you.
:-)
by your definition of discrimination, every choice that is made involving people, regardless of what it is is discrimination and that big broad stroke just isn’t a fair assessment of what discrimination entails.
the best person for the job is not discrimination. it doesn’t even level the playing field.
its a choice based on certain criteria.
if the criteria is based on something that is not by choice, like skin color, nationality…. etc, that’s discrimination
iqgrpaphic
Tell ya what let’s not complicate this –
best person for the job does not create a level playing in which everyone has an equal chance to get the job.
Why not?
because someone has to choose who gets the job, and mostly likely the person doing the choosing will be a white person who may be prejudiced against non-white candidates.
In fact there isn’t much in the job application process that is level between non-whites and whites. (in places where non-whites are a minority)
Instutitional power is in the hands of whites – whites make all the decisions about hiring and firing and that means non-whites will always be at a disadvantage as job seekers. You’re dependent on the good will of white recruiters to give you EQUAL treatment.
Well that’s not good enough for me.
That’s why I say, best person for the job is bogus, it doesn’t take those factors and a range of others, into account.
Postive disrimination and quota systems are imperfect solutions to the racism in job recruitment problem, but we should stick with them until . . . .
In order to truly understand racism, you must understand white people. They are less than 1/10th of the worlds population and declining. They are in extreme survival mode and when any person is in survival mode they will act irrationally (ie: voting against ones own economic interest). Also the term “we are all created equally” should not be confused with “we all deserve equal rights” which we all do. Blacks can do anything whites can, but whites cant do everything that people with color can do and there is envy and hatred that has resulted from it. (Just look at Pro Sports) And this is genetics, not some “slave breading theory”. At the core whites don’t hate blacks because blacks are so bad, rather they hate blacks because they are so good, not to mention blacks have the ability to reduce the white population to zero through race mixing. This is the core reason for segregation in this country. Just listen to the white extremist such as the Klan who are unabashedly honest as to their motives of racial preservation.
Regarding the issue of being “color-blind”, like most have already said it is a passive way for whites to ignore your beauty, your God given gift of color which they lack, and more importantly away for whites to make themselves who are genetic recessive equal to someone who they desperately want to be deep in their subconscious . This might be misconstrued as racist and hatred against whites but it isn’t. Blacks don’t hate white the way whites hate blacks because blacks are not in the same precarious position of being 1/10th of the worlds population and declining while and fighting for genetic survival. So please save the “this is racist” comments. This simple common sense.
I suggest all check out a documentary called “Hidden Colors: The Untold History Of People Of Aboriginal,Moor,and African Descent” which tells you the impact of people with color on the world and why your true history was kept from you. Certain contributions like Black people invented the wheel, invented martial arts, help to construct the Russian language and so on are in the is DVD. This is something for people of all colors to watch especially blacks to get a better appreciation for who people with color are.
Also check a book called: Taboo : Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We’re Afraid to Talk About It.
you ain’t never lied…….whites are recessive and we are dominant
In order to truly understand racism, you must understand white people. They are less than 1/10th of the worlds population and declining.
Well that 1/10th is still a far greater number of whites than there should be. Let me explain, I live in the UK where the population is over 60m, however if Britain were reduced to surviving on its own resources, it would only be able to support a population of under 20m.
There is a surplus population of 40m whites(in Britain) who are being supported by resources stolen mostly from developing countries. They same is true for most countries in Europe and of America which, alone, uses about 25% of the world’s oil.
Whites are not dying – they are thriving at the expense of non-whites. They are not declining, just stabilising – for now, having reached a point where they are powerful enough to control the world with the numbers they have.
However we (specifically blacks) are declining, it is we who are in survival mode and if we want to make it to the 22nd century we’d better deal with the threat to our survival that the west poses.
I agree that whites are in survival mode but I don’t think they are declining in population. It is true that blacks have the genetic power to wipe whites off the earth but whites don’t have to worry about this. Contrary to what blacks think biracial people are NOT black. Many of them have white mothers therefore they are culturally white and their allegiance is to their white mothers which is how it should be. Blacks don’t hold this same allegiance to their mothers that’s why black men have no qualms bringing a white woman home to his black mother. Whites understand that there is power in numbers AND that the MOTHER passes her culture down to her children. Black people can’t seem to grasp this concept which will lead to our demise. This is also why the media pushes WW/BM relationships so much over the reverse. Race mixing will ultimately be the downfall of the black race not the white race. As the black race gets lighter we will soon disappear off the face of the earth like the Moors.
*waits for stones to be thrown* lmaooo
@Isis
Can I say – your post is silly and only reveals your personal obsession with black men & white women.
I know Socially the truth hurts. No obsession just astute observation. Good day
@isis
“Truth hurts”?
Truth never hurt me, it set me free, but I can see why YOU avoid truth if you experience pain on hearing truth.
But don’t the lies you believe hurt you more? Seems to me you’re all hurt over a lie you made up – serves you right.
@isis
you are what your father’s father is.
So if your father’s father is black, you are black. even if your mother is white.
regardless of how you were raised.
if you got your blood tested for the purpose of genealogy, whatever your father’s father was will dominate. Sorry.
Also, its the science based on eugenics that determines race so even though the whites may be in “survival mode” as you say, 1/8th black equates to black.
You want to know what survival mode is? See Jews.
black folk ain’t going no where just because of the dominance of their genes. period. and i wish folks would understand that blacks are STILL the minority. in the world.
Finally, you are correct, mothers do pass down their cultures to their children. However, you forget that american blacks have had their culture stripped from them. see slavery. but that aside, you are mistaking culture for race. Even though that little mixed raced girl was raised with a “white culture” WHATEVER THAT IS, her race is black due to the blood running thru her veins.
I dont agree IQ. Under ur ideology someone like Tracee Ellis Ross is white b/c her dad but u say biracials are black. So which is it?? You cant have it both ways. Only 2 black people have enough genectic power to create another black person. Im sorry that u feel blacks are so inferior that u feel a white person can create us too. Im sorry u feel that way
OK, I got you. A little censorship act, huh?
Typical. But that’s OK.
Just remember it when the whirlwind reaches your front door.
I’d be more concerned about the whirlwind reaching your door, when the world tires of whites and your destructive ways.