Argumentative Essay On Color Blindness

I am writing my critical reaction journal based on my readings in regards to a two writings titled, “Seeing More Than Black and White” by Elizabeth Martinez (1998) in “Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology,” [edited by] Margaret L Andersen; Patricia Hill Collins, 2013, (8th Edition ed., pp. 85-90) and “Color-Blind Privilege” by Charles A. Gallagher (2003) in “Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology,” [edited by] Margaret L Andersen; Patricia Hill Collins, 2013, (8th Edition ed., pp. 91-95).

When trying to understand the concept of color blindness we first need to understand what the term means. It is a set of beliefs in which white individuals judge non-white individuals as if they were treated equally ignoring past racism (Scott p. 77). Individuals who use color blindness do so through four central frames usually used together. The four frames are abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism. To understand how the four frames are sometimes used together we need to understand their meaning.

A lot of people’s responses to this racism and inequality is to say that we should all just be colorblind. We should see people as

This chapter on the framework of the colorblind ideology seems to be the most concrete and logical chapter in the book. This chapter is very well put together, with examples that cover a wide variety of topics. He also illustrates the concept of the frameworks playing into one another very well. The premise of these four frameworks as an “impregnable yet elastic wall that barricades whites from the United States’ racial reality” makes perfect logical sense as an explanation for the “racism without racists” culture seen in the US (47). Changing attitudes towards race relations forced a change in the manifestation of racist ideologies.

Racism is a word that sparks a nerve in many individuals today. As hard as it is to believe, racism is still a big factor in what we as a society know as a unified America. Although, it is not as obvious as it was in the past, it still goes on, just in ways that are less noticeable. We ask the question, is the emphasis on a color-blind society an answer to racism. Ward Connerly claims it is a way to stop the segregation and make America a whole as it has been striving to be for the longest. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva believes color-blind racism is the new racial ideology and still brings about racial inequality. As the solution to the question progresses, we ask ourselves, will a

Colorblindness is a defect in the perception of colors, caused by a deficiency in specialized cells in the retina that are sensitive to different colors. The term is often used today during political discourse, often by members of some factions of liberalism, when claiming that one’s race should be irrelevant to any decision making process. It is a form of moral posturing; that one should see an individual as simply an individual, but not as part of any larger group or culture. As if this philosophy will enable us to bridge any gaps between races, this thought attempts to focus on how we are all the same, rather than how we differ. Teachers and administrators are required to complete coursework pertaining to multicultural education

Colorblindness has helped disseminate racism in the United States since the Civil Rights movements of the mid-sixties, by perpetuating anti-blackness and racial discrimination against other minorities. Colorblindness is a new form of racism, the new “Jim Crow” which “Legitimizes the state and society as racially neutral although they are not neutral” and creates the belief that we have become post-racial and we are all equal. While preaching homogeneity, colorblindness uses mechanisms by which white racial domination is structured and as a result, colorblind racism has caused a widespread of anti-blackness and racial discrimination against Latinos, Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians.

Colorblind ideology is when white people say they think that racism and discrimination to African Americans is behind us. Eduardo Bonilla Silva discusses colorblind ideology in detail with four central frames that guides it. This is based off the belief that the civil rights movement removed all racial comments and we are now moved to success that the color of our skin does matter anymore.

Color blind racism is an “ideology, which acquired cohesiveness and dominance in the late 1960s, explains contemporary racial inequality as the outcome of nonracial dynamics,” according to Bonilla-Silva

In the Ted Talk called Color Blind Or Color Brave, the speaker Mellody Aboso speaks about race. She talks about if people are not color blind, but instead color brave in society and businesses it will be stronger and better. First, the speaker Melody Aboso defines color blindness as a behavior that pretends that someone doesn't notices race. She believes that if you don't deal with the discomfort of different races, than it’s going to effect the next generation of people by recognizing or discriminate different races, genders, etcetera. Next, she speaks about being color brave. She also defines color brave as being willing to have proactive conversations about race in a honest manner. Mellody Aboso also speaks about that by being color brave

A popular notion says a child is born “color-blind” and remains color-blind until they reach adolescence. The problem with this concept is that people believe it to be a positive idea. However, it actually presents a damaging ideology – it suggests that race should not be a factor when trying to determine the type of person an individual is. I see it as an unsophisticated approach to view people because race is a vital part of our existence. Race is an attribute that makes individuals differ from one another, and the problem is not the differences in the colors of our skin. The problem is that we attempt to detach ourselves from the reality of being racially different. Racism will seem to inevitably exist, and in order to even try to end the malice, parents should begin teaching children about racism the right way.

An experience I went through that proved to me color-blind racism is prevalent was when I applied for a job. When I turned sixteen I was so excited to apply for a job because I wanted to feel independent. Naively I didn’t realize that race and ethnicity had a big part of wether or not I got hired. As I applied to this clothing store everything went as planned and

When discussing race, having the right intention is not nearly enough to ensure progress in racial tensions; as such, only positive, tangible action can be the catalyst for change in race discourse. This general rule can help when looking at the concept of colorblindness as a supposedly well-meaning myth, which realistically only serves to continue racist attitudes and systems. Using a critical lens to determine the harm caused by colorblindness can diminish the impact and eventually eradicate a source of racist microagressions. Patricia Williams explores the inherently harmful idea of colorblindness in her book Seeing a Colorblind Future: The Paradox of Race, through exemplary anecdotal evidence. This paper aims to analyze one such anecdote to fully explain the pervasive and malicious way colorblindness is employed in everyday life.

Many people in the United States society believe that people of all cultures, races, and ethnicities are now on an even playing field. People with this belief support their logic with the argument that since equal rights for people of color and women have been required by law for some time now, we are all inherently as equal as claimed in the Declaration of Independence. Many believe that race is no longer an issue, a viewpoint frequently referred to as color-blindness. National polling data indicated that a majority of whites now believe discrimination against racial minorities no longer exists. (Gallagher, 96) Color-blindness allows a white person to define himself or herself as politically and racially tolerant and then proclaim their

It has been a common assumption that the moral character of an individual is linked to their race. Consequently, this has been a major propagator of racism. Furthermore, this has been spread people who the author refers to as “dog whistle politicians” who think that the whites have to succeed because they have the values, work ethics, and orientations required for success. According to Lopez, using colorblindness as a means of looking beyond the skin color of an individual would be helpful in dealing with racism as a whole. Colorblindness has a great role in fighting the establishment of racial policies and in dealing with dog whistle themes. Some of the chief advocates of colorblindness such as Martin Luther King, ending segregation were not the only drive in fighting for civil rights, but also changing the common mindset of linking some races with misery. (82) In recent times, a lot has been done to try and fight the racial stereotyping “deep connection between race and disadvantage” although some gains have been achieved, the author states that a lot has to be done yet.