Colorblindness is the New Racism

 Talking Points 

1. Armstrong and Wildman explain that people with racial privilege may not notice it because it feels “normal” to them. When people say they are “color-blind,” they often avoid recognizing these advantages and it gets swept under the rug. But it is very unrealistic that people do not recognize it in everyday life. 

1. I liked the idea of “color insight”. “Color insight admits that most of us do see race and underlines the need to understand what that racial awareness might mean.” (p.67) I think that color insight makes you acknowledge that race affects everyone’s experiences. We can then reflect on our own assumptions and privileges to then hopefully take the steps to address these inequalities.

2. 
   In the TED talk, Hobson says “If we truly believe in equal rights and equal opportunity in America, I think we have to have real conversations about this issue. We cannot afford to be color blind. We have to be color brave. We have to be willing, as teachers and parents and entrepreneurs and scientists, we have to be willing to have proactive conversations about race with honesty and understanding and courage.” This really hit me. There are so many different ways even in my own life, professional and personal that I can be proactive to be color brave and to become more comfortable with the uncomfortable. 
   

Argument Statement

The authors Armstrong, Wildman and Hobson argue that society makes colorblindness hides privilege and encourages racism to not be named which continues to promote inequality. Color insight won’t magically fix everything but helps create a name and open a door for more meaningful conversations, but we can become more color brave.

Making Connections

In 2020, when there was a spark in protests against police brutality, I remember coming to my own realization of my own colorblindness. I would say to myself, “I think everyone should be treated and respected the same and I do not see color.” But when I chose to learn more about racial groups, I realized that seeing color is the point and it also helped me acknowledge my privilege. I was not trying to help fix the problem because I wasn’t acknowledging it. I loved the idea of everyone being treated “the same”. It sounds fair. But if people start from unequal positions, equal treatment just continues to keep inequality. By seeing color, I notice the oppression and disparities across our society in education, healthcare, etc. I used to think I was being almost polite and my intentions were good when thinking in the way of colorblindness, but by acknowledging race I can see how race shapes the world in different ways. This was very hard for me to accept at the time, but I think it was progress into becoming more, as Hobson says, color brave.