As a white person talking about race, I understand that I am likely to make mistakes or phrase certain ideas incorrectly. If I have said something wrong in this article, please call me out! Point out my mistake, improve my perspective, whatever you need to do to direct me towards a path of better understanding.
I don't remember ever having a conversation with my parents about race. They never sat me down to talk about racial injustices, in the same way that parents talk to their children about the Birds and the Bees (by the way, they never had this conversation with me either!). I feel as though I was pushed into the belief that mentioning race somehow shuns black people. Although it was never said to me directly, I quickly caught on with society's consensus: as long as we do not mention race and accept that everyone is equal, then racism will eventually go away.
But racism hasn't gone away, and recent events would suggest that the situation is actually getting worse. So, surely, colour blindness isn't working as a concept.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that have followed, I have steeped myself in learning about black history, white privilege and colour blindness. It is quite incredible for me to comprehend that it has only taken a few days of research to completely change a mindset that I have held onto tightly for the past eighteen years. Colour blindness is a terrible solution to end racism, and here's why...
I should start off by stating very clearly that mentioning race can be racist and it can lead to the shunning of BIPOC in our communities. We see this, for example, in environments where the mentioning of race is used as an insult or is quickly translated into violence or abuse. Drawing attention to race and making someone feel ashamed of the colour of their skin is invariably racist.
However, there are certainly examples where mentioning race does no harm. Indeed, the awkward way in which white people try to avoid mentioning race can often prove more insulting than if they had simply mentioned race in the first place. In her incredibly insightful workbook Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad - a bestselling author, anti-racism educator, international speaker, and incredible human being - highlights a crucial fact:
'As a child, I could never understand why white parents would shush their children whenever they used the word Black to describe a Black person. 'Don't say that! It's rude!' they would say in hushed tones, embarrassed that their child had said something that was apparently offensive. But what made it offensive? I was Black. This was an observation of difference, not a derogatory judgement. How were they supposed to refer to me? These parents sometimes took it a step further by saying things like, 'They're not Black. They're just people.' What did this mean? And why was it so important for them to not say the word Black? It often left me wondering, was Black synonymous with bad? Was my skin colour a source of shame? And if so, was I expected to act as if I were not Black to make white people more comfortable around me?'
This excerpt from Saad's workbook raises several important convictions, first and foremost that calling someone Black is not an indication of racist behaviour. So, instead of our parents telling us that we 'shouldn't see race', they should have been telling us that race should be acknowledged but should not be used as a gateway towards inappropriate, racially-motivated behaviour. White people exist and black people exist. This is an observation that we can make, but it is certainly not an opportunity to force black people into a box of shame, simply on account of their skin colour. Equally, this observation should not be used to reinforce the idea that black people are somehow inferior.
Yet, the fundamental fault I find in colour blindness is that it shapes the way in which we learn about and understand race. Colour blindness arises from an idealised and utopic view of race. This approach relies on the belief that everyone is equal and that everyone should be viewed equally, regardless of the colour of their skin. A flick through the news, however, will quickly show that this world is by no means equal. In fact, you don't even need to rely on the news to understand that our society is overwhelmed by inequalities. Simply step outside and you'll soon see how ingrained racism is in our communities. It's in the schools we attend and it's in the hospitals we visit when we're sick. It's in the businesses we buy from, it's in the housing market and, most importantly, it's in the government. Racism is everywhere.
So, my journey towards racial enlightenment has made me realise, with a deepening sense of tragedy, that this world never has been equal. Trying to believe in this utopic society becomes a significant waste of time and does nothing to further the BLM movement.
What's more, colour blindness encourages a lazy and apathetic approach towards understanding racism, whilst also strengthening the sense of disconnection between people of different races. If we are told that being colour blind is all we need to do to eradicate racism, then we will never be forced - as individuals and as a society - to truly educate ourselves on an issue that is, after all, a white problem. Suggesting that racism will simply 'disappear' through colour blindness deflects the blame from white people, who have established institutions that thrive on systemic racism. Colour blindness creates the false belief that white people are not to blame for the atrocities of racism - for the years of slavery, lynching, racially-motivated abuse, and exploitation of indigenous communities. Colour blindness establishes an abstract enemy - which is race - and I can only describe this approach to racism as distorted and fundamentally wrong. White people are responsible and we should be made accountable.
In order to overcome racism, we must steep ourselves in research and force ourselves into uncomfortable waters. We must read books written by BIPOC authors and establish a system of support by listening to their experiences. We must confront the ultimate truth that white people have been handed down privileges undeservedly on account of their skin colour. We must realise that our exploitation of white privilege and the perpetuation of white superiority heighten our complicity in a racist world. But we will never achieve this sense of understanding if all we are simply told to 'ignore race'. This is wishful thinking. This is an utterly pointless mindset.
Our parents present racism to us as if it is some sort of rash. We have been raised to believe that the 'rash of racism' will simply disappear on its own if we stop irritating it and simply ignore it. But racism is not a rash. It will never go away on its own.
Once again, Layla Saad summarises this idea perfectly, and if you are learning from these excerpts, then I highly recommend that you invest in her Me and White Supremacy workbook:
'The promise of the Church of Colour Blindness is that if we stop seeing race, then racism goes away. That racism will go away not through awakening consciousness of privilege and racial harm, not through systemic and institutional change, not through addressing imbalances in power, not through making amends for historical and current-day harm, but instead by simply acting as if the social construct of race has no actual consequences - both for those with white privilege and those without it... Unfortunately, that is not how white supremacy works. The problem does not go away because you refuse to see it. And this kind of thinking is naive at best and dangerous at worst.'
Moreover, colour blindness, commonly seen among children with white privilege, brings another crucial point to the surface of this debate. White children are encouraged to adopt 'colour blindness' because their apparent 'white superiority' enables them to breeze through life, often not having to acknowledge their own race. Colour blindness works for white children because the colour of their skin does not hold them back.
The story of black children, however, is far more upsetting. Black children are made to realise at an incredibly young age that they are somehow 'different' to the rest of society, which is often viewed through a white, privileged lens. When a white child insults a black child because of their race, that child cannot remain colour blind. When a black child is looked at differently because of their race, that child cannot remain colour blind. When a black child is treated unfairly because they are defined according to unfair racial stereotypes, that child cannot remain colour blind. Colour blindness, then, is just another privilege that white people (including myself) are granted.
But why should we be paying attention to race? Believe it or not, black people are actually really proud of who they are, and so they should be. Black people celebrate their history, their heritage, their culture and their identity. But colour blindness perpetuates the idea that black people should not openly celebrate who they are, that their race is not important and that their identity should be disregarded. This is all so wrong. Colour blindness suppresses the voices of BIPOC, who are forced to believe that they are not allowed to talk openly about their racial experiences, because they are 'drawing attention to race', which, according to disinterested white people, perpetuates the problem of racism. White people show no willingness to listen. They want to remain silent. They do not want to learn. We do not want to learn.
There is a reason that Puerto Rican author, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, calls colour blindness 'the new racism'. It does absolutely nothing to eradicate racism, and instead perpetuates it in a white-oriented society that, ultimately, lacks any genuine understanding of racism. Colour blindness upholds white privilege and is 'a particularly insidious way for people with white privilege to pretend that their privilege is fictitious', according to Saad.
Instead of teaching our children to be colour blind, we should be teaching them to see race and to embrace the beauty of diversity. I will certainly be teaching my children that. This is only one part of an incredibly complex picture, but if we ever want to overcome racism, then it's certainly a great start.
'Antiracism work that does not break the heart open cannot move people toward meaningful change' - Layla Saad.