Colorblindness or Racism?

 

The readings for this assignment were difficult because they made me realize that by not addressing racial issues head on and by thinking that “All Lives Matter” was an adequate replacement for “Black Lives Matter,” I have been part of the problem and therefore not part of the solution. By claiming colorblindness, I have been perpetuating racism, not helping to abolish it.

In “Why you should stop saying ‘all lives matter,’ explained in 9 different ways,” German Lopez uses relatable examples to illustrate how “Black Lives Matter” is not insinuating in any way that all lives don’t matter or that black lives should matter more. The author argues that black lives also matter and draws attention to the fact that there is inequity that needs to be addressed. I am guilty of saying "all lives matter." My argument was that we all should matter. We all deserve life, food, water, safety, shelter, etc. I did not think about it in terms of the proportion of Blacks that do not have the power that I have as a white, American, heterosexual, middle-class woman. I didn’t think about statistics or equity, but simply wishing everyone is equal and everyone matters is not going to make it happen.

Armstrong and Wildman argue in “Colorblindness is the New Racism” that white people often claim colorblindness, much like I did. "Whites can claim they do not discriminate because they often do not think in racial terms." (Armstrong and Wildman, p. 63) If the topic is not approached, racism does not exist. I am quickly learning that this philosophy is flawed. 

Decoded - Season 3, Ep. 7 gives examples of how racism affects housing, job searches and even preschoolers and explains that colorblindness will not solve any of these issues. As Delpit and Johnson both pointed out, we will not make any progress with inequities of race and power in society until we find the right words and discuss the issues. Armstrong and Wildman point out that color insight is a better alternative to colorblindness (p.68.) There are racial differences which should be noticed and embraced. People should be educated on these differences and use them to better understand others rather than discriminate against them. 

So how do we help? How do we combat the issues of race inequity and unfair division of power in our culture? As everyone witnessed in our discussion after playing Five Tricks in class on Monday, I have an innate need to help people. My interpretation of the situation was that a peer was unable to recall or follow the directions of the game and as such, she was repeatedly losing. In reality, she did not want to learn the game. The rules were not important to her, and she was enjoying her time playing, even stating it was relaxing. Afterwards, she made a point to thank me for my concern and even apologized. This interaction was an “ah-ha” moment for me. I completely misread the situation, assuming because the rules were important to me, they must also have been important to her, and she must have been struggling. I don’t have the answer to how we can rid the world of racism and create a society where equality prevails, but I am learning that before we get to that point, we need to listen, and we need to speak up. We need to acknowledge that not everyone needs or wants the same thing. We can’t assume our culture, our opinions, or our beliefs are right any more than we can assume that someone is playing a game with the same intentions as ourselves.