In
Armstrong & Wildman's article titled
Colorblindness is the New Racism, they discuss a new and shifted conception of what racism looks like it in today's 'post-racial' society. Throughout their article, they assert that the idea of being 'colorblind' -- meaning you see everyone as the same color -- is an inherently racist viewpoint. This colorblindness is a component of what the authors describe as white privilege. The authors state that:
There is the idea that white people do not think of themselves in a racialized way, which is a main component of white privilege. Every day a Person of Color exists within our white-dominant society, they are reminded of the boundaries that are set in place due to their color. Due to the fact that these boundaries are inherently tied to skin color, white individuals are not socialized with the awareness that these boundaries even exist. Race plays an important factor in recognizing these boundaries, and the 'colorblind' mindset actually upholds the racist status quo. This idea is summarized when Armstrong & Wildman write:
It is important that, for meaningful change to be produced, white identifying individuals must recognize that their attitude towards skin color may reinforce and maintain white-dominant societal structures. Kevin Roose, in his article,
"All Lives Matters", adds to the important ways in which we can work to support positive changes to our system. He discusses the Black Lives Matter Movement and the uprise of people stating that, "
The real issue is that, while strictly true, "All Lives Matter" is a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the real problems black people in America face". This sentiment detracts from real problems black and POC individuals face in society each day. Though all people may face adversity within their lives, stating that "All Lives Matter" when someone says "Black Lives Matter" further marginalizes the lived experiences of race and power that black communities face in America.
This past Friday, our school held a Professional Development that involved the ideas and concepts that we read for our course. The speaker,
Fanshen Cox, travels the country speaking and performing about her experience with race in America. I found the professional development incredibly engaging and helpful in its context with our readings. Fanshen integrated research into her presentation, displaying the hard statistics and raw emotion that play out in the lives of POC individuals throughout society. One aspect that I found really connected with our readings was how she wants the world to not be 'colorblind' but to be 'colorFULL'. Playing off the ideas from Armstrong & Wildman, Fanshen discussed that every day, whether white people see it or not, injustice is perpetrated against black and brown bodies. Because these injustices exist regardless of someone's ability to see color, it is important that we try our best to see the diversity of color around us in order to understand the real and impactful ways race plays out within our society.
Hi Christian,
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a lot of solid, valid points in your blog post for this week. I especially like where you state, “Every day a Person of Color exists within our white-dominant society, they are reminded of the boundaries that are set in place due to their color.” It is so important for us as a society to realize that this is occurring every single day for POC. You really brought to life this discussion by discussing the Professional Development we went to on Friday. Like you say, it is incredibly important for us to see color to fully understand the role race plays in our society and the interaction we have with individuals of all backgrounds every day.
- Sara
Hi Christian!
ReplyDeleteI love that you brought up what you learned in your Professional Development experience. Seeing things as colorFULL I think is a better name for acknowledging the differences of people around us. Yes we are colorblind, but if we continue to see it as such, we will continue to focus on the negative aspect of this conversation. If you can shift the conversation to say we can be colorFULL, it acknowledges our ability to recognize POC in society and to see that they exist and our there.
FYI the above comment is me. I accidentally commented using the wrong email address.
DeleteHi Christian, great post! That PD must've been such a valuable experience to have! I am honestly jealous! She sounds incredibly wise and surefooted. I love how she rebranded this new 'colorblindness' concept to colorFULLness! It is an empowering way to look at it, and CONTINUE to look at it, always keeping it at the forefront of our minds. The more we are intentional in this goal, the more naturally it will come to us.
ReplyDeleteI love it when things in the world and our daily lives resonate so perfectly. Your PD is another text to put in the "folder" with our class materials. Color "full" goes so well with Color insight.
ReplyDelete