Colorblindness is Not Racism

Colorblindness is not racism. Racism is, by definition, treating a person differently because of his or her ethnicity. If a non-segregated society is going to work all ethnic groups of that society must be treated the same. Different rules for different colors of people can only lead to a dominate race, and racial differences are many times confused with cultural differences.

Up until the 60’s, segregation was considered constitutional because there were separate yet equal facilities for both races: one for “colored” folk and one for “white” folk. However, facilities were not equal and segregation only perpetuated discriminatory acts of violence. Putting such a large emphasis on skin color only promoted false feelings of pride and shamefulness. People were told to be proud if they were white and ashamed if they were anything else. Not being colorblind led to this kind of racism, and people were judged by something they had no control over. It was not possible to move from segregation to colorblindness over night, for the effects of segregation could not disappear over night. These effects included an economic gap between races and a stigma attached to the opposite race. So after segregation, oppressed races needed a leg up because their opportunities had been limited by their race for so long.

Affirmative action gave races, previously discriminated against, a chance to succeed in a society where they could not have otherwise. Its purpose was to give equal chances to everyone by judging people differently based on the color of their skin. By not being colorblind, after a “previous social” grievance, America was promoting equality. However, the problem with affirmative action is that it doesn’t address the economic status of a person, only his ethnicity. The reason affirmative action was successful when it was introduced in 1961 is because the racial groups it benefited also fit into the same economic group: poor. In 1961, economic trends were reflected by the color a person’s skin. A generation or two after segregation, affirmative action and noticing differences in race is no longer necessary. The gap between races is less and racism is looked down upon. Today, equality can be reached without preferential treatment decided by a person’s skin color. Colleges are not diverse just because they have colorful student bodies. A college could have every color in the rainbow represented, but if every student comes from a well-to-do family, affirmative action has not done what it was created to do, which was equalized economic trends among races.

This is not to say cultural diversity should not be noticed and respected; race and culture are not one and the same. Race is skin color-black, white, yellow; culture is art, hip-hop, Kwanza, and tie-dye. Racism is not based on culture it’s based on skin color. The truth is, noticing skin color is racism, and ignoring culture would be “ignoring the differences that exist.” So go out and be proud of your cultural individuality, but being proud of your skin color is just plain ignorant.