Week 3- “Colorblindness is the New Racism” and “Color Blind or Color Brave?”

On “Colorblindness is the New Racism”-- notes and other thoughts

Before reading these– I had some thoughts on color blindness as a concept. If one suggests they are racially colorblind– that is, they claim to treat all races equally– what is this an admission of exactly? As Luna Malbroux pointed out in “The Four I’s of Oppression”, this statement is not relevant to the workings of systemic oppression. I believe that, more than anything, it is only an admission that the individual is not personally responsible for racism, or that they themselves are not racist. It is a passing of blame, of responsibility. It ignores the fact that in spite of this perception, the individual (assuming they’re white, which…they probably are) is still benefiting from the oppressive system, even if they are not conscious of it. 

Likewise, I believe a claim such as colorblindness is more often than not an outright lie– consciously or subconsciously, we register different groups differently than others. Ending racism and oppression is not just about claiming there are no differences between us– it is about accepting differences. That different cultures, different races, different ways of living, are ok, and that it is ok to not conform to a particular norm. Acceptance, I personally believe, is the name of the game here.

Authors Armstrong and Wildman make an interesting point early on– individuals can claim colorblindness, because they themselves do not have to think in terms of racial difference or disparity. These individuals may be thinking of the disadvantages that other races have within the system, but they are unaware of how whites may be benefitting from said system, and how these benefits are unfair.

Again they touch on another concept we have discussed– the multifaceted nature of oppression– how one individual may be oppressed in one way, but benefit from the system in another.

“As long as educators, particularly legal educators, and students fail to question the dynamics of whiteness and privilege in antidiscrimination law, the legal system will reinscribe that privilege and perpetuate discrimination” (p. 65).

“Society purports to prize colorblindness, and that dictate makes it hard to “see race” in public discussion” (p. 66)

“Color insight does not provide a magic wand that dispenses with racism, but it does offer a vocabulary and some significant points of entry for deeper conversations” (p. 76)

Armstrong and Wildman argue that color blindness only serves to obfuscate the role that “whiteness” and other dominant social ideologies play in upholding system oppression. The authors also argue that valuing colorblindness creates a difficult situation in which racial injustice cannot be properly discussed. An incomplete understanding of white privilege only serves to further harm the oppressed, and a failure to discuss racial discrimination only continues to perpetuate it. To further the end of racial injustice, safe environments for discussing race, such as in the classroom, must be created. Color insight over color blindness.

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On “Colorblind or Colorbrave?” – notes and other thoughts

I have actually watched this one before– it was played at a staff meeting at our school this year. The subject of the meeting was acknowledging racial disparity in the classroom. It was an incredibly awkward experience– a room of middle aged white people just taking the info being dispensed through one ear and out the other. It was strange seeing the absolute stubbornness of my peers, about a topic I thought they would be more sensitive to, teaching in a heavily colored community such as Cranston. Nobody really took it seriously. I had expected more from them, but just as the Colorblindness reading stated, race is an uncomfortable topic that most people opt to tiptoe around. The video was played more or less without context; I wonder if it would have gone better if there was first a level of understanding on how they as white teachers benefited from white privilege, before watching the video.

“Now, race is one of those topics in America that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable. You bring it up at a dinner party or in a workplace environment, it is literally the conversational equivalent of touching the third rail”

“There was a corporate study that said that, instead of avoid race, smart corporations actually deal with it head on”

“Invite people who don’t look like you, don’t think like you, don’t act like you, don’t come from where you come from, and you might find that they will challenge your assumptions and make you grow as a person”

Melody Hobson argues that rather than being colorblind, we must be color brave– acknowledging differences is the only way to confront systemic oppression. Tackling the problem head on is the only way things can change for the better, rather than skirting around the issue because it makes us uncomfortable.

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I found this cartoon that kind of encapsulates some ideas in these materials– to many individuals, race is not seen as a problem, but that is only because said individuals are not on the receiving end of systemic racial oppression.