How We Have Become Colorblind

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I was recently struck by the title of a Slate article: Why Do Millennials Not Understand Racism? While I am naturally drawn to every online article producing a blanket statement about Millennials from our career aspirations to our narcissism, this article struck me as part of a more necessary, if not overdue, conversation that my generation needs to engage with intentionally.

At the crux of the article was the concept of being colorblind-how Millennials have come to revere this status as the ultimate goal in ending racism, and our belief that if we ignore people's color we will create a more equal society. This struck a chord with me-for I have been taught this lesson my entire life. I still remember the first time I learned about racism. I was 6-years-old, flipping through an American Girl catalog with all of the different dolls and corresponding outfits one could purchase. I had taken my pen, originally to circle items I wanted for my future American Girl, and had begun crossing out all of the faces of Addy, the African-American doll whose story is based on the history of slavery. I don't remember exactly why I felt compelled to do this, but when my mom scolded me for the scribbles, I explained that she looked different and I did not like that. (I was raised in a predominantly white suburb of Chicago where I had very limited encounters with people of color.) Her response was one of a colorblind society: we are all the same, so you shouldn't cross her out just because she looks different.

And that is how I began to see race: as a concept that should be ignored in order to create equality. By recognizing someone's race it brought attention to my own supposed prejudice-if I saw everyone as equal, race would be insignificant (or so many of us were taught.) 

In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's prize-winning novel Americanah there is an awkward moment at a retail store in America that exploits the irony of our color-blind aspirations perfectly. (Actually, everything about this book explores race relations in America with an acute and acerbic eye that needs to be applied more often. As the tagline goes, it is 'America, as told by a non-African-American black person' and the revelations are hauntingly accurate).

            "Did anybody help you?" the cashier asks.                     

When Ginika says yes, the cashier inquires if it was Chelcy or Jennifer. Ginika scans the store, but both women have disappeared.

         "Was it the one with long hair?" the cashier asks.

         "Well, both of them had long hair."

         "The one with the dark hair?"

          Both of them had dark hair.

       "It’s okay, I’ll figure it out later and make sure she gets her commission," the cashier says.

Why didn’t she just ask, "Was it the black girl or the white girl?" Ifemelu says after they have left the store. To which, her friend replies, "Because this is America. You’re supposed to pretend that you don’t notice certain things."     

I remember reading this scene, and realizing how utterly bizarre it would seem to a non-American. And yet this scene could have been taken right out of my life. I would never have singled out the "black girl" or the "white girl" because it would show that I had noticed their race, and that would not make sense in our so-called "post-racial" society. But when we ignore our differences, and refuse to acknowledge the unique cultural and racial experiences that have shaped our worldviews, we are losing out on an entire part of the equation-celebrating our diversity and actually benefitting from our differences.* This is the catch-22 that the Slate article narrows in on: how do we benefit from each other's cultural backgrounds and diversity while not offending people or exploiting their differences?

The article is actually based on an MTV study (yes, that MTV) as part of their "Look Different" campaign aimed at helping millennials "discuss prejudice and discrimination in our lives." We see this 'appreciate but don't exploit' paradox emerge immediately from the responses:

73% believe never considering race would improve society

81% believe embracing diversity and celebrating differences between the races would improve society

48% believe it is wrong to draw attention to someone’s race even if you are being positive

How do you even reconcile that? We should ignore race-but then also embrace diversity-but then somehow accomplish that without drawing attention to our different races. Um, what?? This whole expectation of being politically correct has us in a bind, and we don't know how to get out. We want to respect each other's differences, and even learn and benefit from them, but the fear of offending someone else tends to shut down the conversation before it begins. Hence, just 20% of the respondents are comfortable having a conversation about bias.

But that doesn't mean we don't want this conversation to happen: 69% would love the opportunity to have an open respectful and judgment free conversation about bias. Of course, 79% worry that the biggest concern of addressing bias is creating a conflict or making the situation even worse. 

So how do we get out of this muddle? How can we move beyond the colorblind utopia that some of us are caught in and really talk about our differences in a safe space without the constant fear of offending other people? 

In short, I don't know, and I don't believe any of the articles responding to this survey know either. It is a tough situation, and not one that can be solved by simply creating an online forum or having celebrity endorsements to discuss the issue. There are so many factors at play. Not just a fear of racism, but also a fear that by admitting we are not post-racial that we are somehow turning back the clocks and restarting a fraught dialogue that has been long dormant. As the article states: 

80% would want to know if they had biases they were not aware of

80% would want to know if they had ever inadvertently exhibited bias towards someone

These conversations are definitely in demand, and millennials admit that we are not beyond these biases.

Just because the Feminist movement happened does not mean we are past sexism. And just because the Civil Rights movement happened, does not mean we are beyond racism. The article ends with a powerful statement and reminder:

"A generation that hates racism but chooses colorblindness is a generation that, through its neglect, comes to perpetuate it."

So hopefully this post adds to that conversation as we try to move beyond our colorblind ideals and address these issues head-on. I am the first to admit that this idea is scary and uncomfortable, but it is better than the alternative-pretending this issue doesn't exist.

*Please note that there is a difference between celebrating each other's diversity and letting that become an excuse for asking sensitive and at times harmful race-based questions.