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Color Blind Our world is constantly progressing with, technology, medical, and even transportation. We as people feel like we are evolving, to adapt to this advancement in our environment. What about racism? Has racism truly evolved? Martin Luther King Jr. once said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (Brainy…) Martin Luther King Jr’s. dream does not sound so far fetch. But, in today’s culture, it is unattainable to become color blind. We as humans have the ability to see colors and experience the world in more than just black and white. We take for granted what our eyes can actually do and take into consideration …show more content…
In the 1990s, the American Psychological Association (APA) asked the question Can--or Should--America Be Color Blind? During the study, researchers found that with our best efforts to overlook race, color really does matter. The idea of being a “color blind” society would only suppress the various races even more. We, well I hope most of us, do not want to be superior of one race over another. (America…) By moving towards a “color blind” society, we are turning our heads to the racism that we already know exists and pretending even more that it is just all in their …show more content…
We need to realize that we are different. We come from different backgrounds, and experienced different things. But we need to also understand that we are also the same. We are human. We were put on this planet; whichever way one looks at it, to coexist and do our purpose here. Patricia J Williams implies in another essay, “ Super-Black, Color Blind” That by ignoring our differences and racism the same way we always have, we will constantly be in a never ending cycle of intolerance. Such as racism, and class bias. It is essential that we stop ignoring what is right in front of us. It is essential that we wake up, and realize that color does matter, but it should not matter when judging someone. We forget to realize that every culture and every race has the good, the bad, and the ugly, but by accepting this, and working together we truly can accomplish more than just “living with those
By being color conscious, we see the strengths in one another and acknowledge the experiences of one another as significant and valuable. This idea of being color blind vs. color conscious is directly related to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and the All Lives Matter (ALM) movement. One of the criticisms in this ordeal is that the BLM never put forth the notion that all lives don’t matter. Obviously, all lives matter. But, I think saying all lives matter in response is ignoring the fact that blacks have been disproportionally mistreated, profiled, and arrested more often than
examines the effects of the colorblindness approach to achieving a post-racial society. Wingfield, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of numerous books and articles concerning racism in America, focuses her research around the effects of the colorblindness ideology on individual cultures and social issues. This article appears in The Atlantic, a left-leaning news source, along with a collection of Wingfield’s other articles, mostly covering issues concerning racism and segregation in America.
As a nation, we have made great strides at improving race relations, but this does not mean that racism is extinct. As was pointed out in the class lecture on the Civil Rights Movement, many things have improved, but the fight for civil rights should be continuing as there is still oppression in operation in our own State as was made clear on the issue of suppressing voter rights. Racism is not born into mankind, racism is taught. This shows that if hate can be taught, then love and respect for others can be taught also.
It would be ignorant to say racism does not exist till today. There is almost a complete 100 year difference between the reconstruction period and the Civil Rights Movement for equal rights to the Black society. While slavery took time to vanish in the south in those hundreds of years, segregation was pushed harshly, laws we 're enacted to prevent Blacks from having certain privileges that whites had. Segregation almost seemed to kick the Blacks out of the society we live together in. The Jim Crow laws had made efficient work in separating the Blacks from the Whites in society, and it took the Civil Rights movement in 1964 to finally bring more equality to the African-American society. However, the Ku Klux Klan and still other organizations had existed and continue to exist despite efforts to bring equality. There is a strong social equality for the Black population in America today, but because of hate organizations and discrimination still existing today, black lives are being lost through murder, and even in forms of police brutality. Take for example the L.A riots in 1992 from the beating of Rodney King, or going back to 1967 the Detroit riots which tore apart these cities. Today Black Lives Matter movements exist to crush out racism in society so people no longer have to live in fear, and it is an existing movement that I think will actually fade as generations in the future work to build up society, and racism will become a thing of a past. There is however, always going to be something that causes prejudices and hate in society if not directed to one group of people. Even today if racism disappears between blacks and whites, prejudice occurs between cultural people here in America. These problems exist mainly in America, and it is socially slowing us down from advancing as a
Race has been an issue in North America for many years. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva discusses the new racism in his book, Racism without Racists. Bonilla-Silva classifies the new racial discrimination as color blind racism. Color blind racism is then structured under four frames (26). Color blind racism is believed to have lead to the segregation of the white race from other minorities called white habitus. Color blind racism and white habitus has affected many people, whom don’t even realize that they are, have been or will be affected.
Due to their immensely different pasts, the two races have a hard time relating to one another, which keeps us apart as people. I have had to deal with a lot of racism in my lifetime, more so from my family than anywhere else. I have been disliked and not "accepted" by my grandparents and great aunts and uncles, some of whom I have never met, due to the color of my skin. My first-hand experience with racism and dealing with it effectively has made me a better, more complete person. The point of my writing this essay is to hopefully open one’s eyes to realize EVERYONE is equal.
Though racism seems to be a thing of the past, there is still room for progression in the United States. Having been a country that was widely accepting of the enslavement of African Americans over a century ago, many Americans have not evolved nor turned the page on the subject. Despite the many movements, trials, and acts developed by our society to ensure civil rights to all African Americans, America remains a principally racist country. The only effective way to defeat racism is to not practice or teach what was once taught one hundred years ago. Author Alex Haley is quoted, “Racism is taught in our society, it is not automatic. It is learned behavior toward persons with dissimilar physical characteristics.” If we do not teach our youth of prejudice or hatred towards human beings for something as trivial as differing skin color I believe racism, not only concentrated in the United States, but globally, will diminish.
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
In this world we are constantly being categorized by our race and ethnicity, and for many people it’s hard to look beyond that. Even though in the past many stood up for equality and to stop racism and discrimination, it still occurs. In this nation of freedom and equality, there are still many people who believe that their race is superior to others. These beliefs are the ones that destroy our nation and affect the lives of many. The people affected are not limited by their age group, sex, social status, or by their education level.
The way humans look externally and feel internally has been a barrier and the kernel to many of America’s social conflicts. Audre Lorde’s essay, “Eye to Eye: Black Women, Hatred, and Anger,” attempts to answer why Black women feel contempt among one another. It resonates that Black women, in lieu of their hatred for each other, should replace it by bonding together because they share the same experiences of being women and Black. In the essay titled, “Colorblind Intersectionality,” penned by, Devon W. Carbado seeks to expand the definition of “intersectionality,” which is a theory Professor Crenshaw initially introduced as a, “Drawing explicitly on Black feminist criticism,” (Carbado 811). Carbado is able to provide other forms of intersections by
Racism within the black community is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. In the black community, African-Americans are discriminating against each other, putting those with lighter skin complexions against those whose skin is darker. In the African American community, it’s like a battle of the skin tones. This type of racism is also known as colorism, the belief that those with lighter, fairer skin are treated with a higher respect than those with darker skin, this issue has been happening for a long time within the African American community. This form of racism is more offensive, severe, and different than the common traditional racism.
Would you say racism has changed over the years? Today, it’s still a big problem. From segregation to physical abuse, racial strife has changed dramatically over the past 90 years. More people have become aware of racism and the way we treat people, but it’s still a problem. A few problems that are facing today’s colored and ethnic population are police shootings of unarmed blacks and social media.
Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).
The Association of Black Psychologist (ABP) (2013) defines colorism as skin-color stratification. Colorism is described as “internalized racism” that is perceived to be a way of life for the group that it is accepted by (ABP 2013). Moreover, colorism is classified as a persistent problem within Black American. Colorism in the process of discriminatory privileges given to lighter-skinned individuals of color over their darker- skinned counterparts (Margret Hunter 2007). From a historical standpoint, colorism was a white constructed policy in order to create dissention among their slaves as to maintain order or obedience. Over the centuries, it seems that the original purpose of colorism remains. Why has this issue persisted? Blacks have been able to dismantle the barriers faced within the larger society of the United States. Yet, Blacks have failed to properly address the sins of the past within the ethnic group. As a consequence of this failure, colorism prevails. Through my research, I developed many questions: Is it right that this view remain? How does valuing an individual over another cause distribution to the mental health of the victims of colorism? More importantly, what are the solutions for colorism? Colorism, unfortunately, has had a persisted effect on the lives of Black Americans. It has become so internalized that one cannot differentiate between the view of ourselves that Black Americans adopted from slavery or a more personalized view developed from within the ethnicity. The consequences of this internalized view heightens the already exorbitant mental health concerns within the Black community, but the most unfortunate aspect of colorism is that there is contention on how the issue should be solved.
Colorism has became a huge issue in today’s society. Colorism is an issue because, it is a form of racism, it reflects back on the days of slavery, it is overall rude, and jail terms are affected.