What does it mean to be color blind? According to Google, the definition of color blind is, “not influenced by racial prejudice.” Basically, that means you do not notice someone’s race when you first meet them. A couple of months ago I attended one of the many, “Being Black in America” panels Housing and Residence life host once a semester and it was intriguing. To paraphrase what our host that night said, “white people act like they do not see color because if they did it would provoke white guilt, something we do not want to feel.” So, I wondered, “Is someone’s color the first thing you notice when you meet them?”
I posed this question to my Twitter followers and Facebook friends. 58 people voted in my twitter poll. 67% said, “yes” while 33% said, “no.” On Facebook, 23 people said, “yes” while 10 said, “no.”
Last week I was a part of a colorism panel for the NAACP and when we were asked do we notice color, most of us in the room including the panel said yes, our explanation behind our answer was simple. We notice color because representation matters, we want to see people that look like us. How can we not notice color when that is one of the biggest issues that separate us? For those who do not notice color, do you notice the color on the traffic light or do you decide when to slow down or stop your car just because? If we did not notice color why was there segregation or Jim Crow laws in place? I think for those who choose not to notice color, it is because they do not want to accept the truth. We were given labels, race being one of them. Race became important when the Europeans needed to find a way to distinguish a hierarchy and a division between themselves and the rest of the people of color.
The reason we do not notice color is simple, we do, we just believe if we admit this, in turn people will call us racist. Noticing the obvious difference between your complexion and or race compared to mine is not racist. According to Google being racist is, “a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.” What is the first thing that grabs your attention when you see a flower, it’s color. I want you to notice color so you can see the lack of representation of people of color when it comes to receiving scholarships, being in the classrooms, working at your job, who receive the promotions and the lawmakers.
Do you spot the difference, I am told these opportunities are available to me yet I do not see anyone that looks like me receiving them? And when those opportunities are available, people of color must work 10 times as hard and jump through twice the number of hoops just to qualify for an interview. I want you to know there is nothing wrong about noticing color because you begin to identify with that person. You see their pain, you develop an interest in their history and you no longer turn a blind eye to injustice. I hope you choose not to be color blind. Color does not create a gap, it is just an adjective, it does not define you or the lives you will impact but unfortunately whether we admit it or not it will interfere with the way society views you.
By Selina Johnson