A colorblind approach allows us to deny uncomfortable cultural differences.
Blindness means being unable to see.
What is racial colorblindness?
Racial issues are often uncomfortable to discuss and rife with
stress
and controversy. Many ideas have been advanced to address this sore
spot in the American psyche. Currently, the most pervasive approach is
known as
colorblindness. Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end
discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.
At
its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — really taking
MLK seriously on his call to judge people on the content of their
character rather than the color of their skin. It focuses on
commonalities between people, such as their shared humanity.
However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to heal racial wounds
on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that in the
end operates as a form of racism.
Problems with the colorblind approach
Racism?
Strong words, yes, but let's look the issue straight in its partially
unseeing eye. In a colorblind society, White people, who are unlikely to
experience disadvantages due to race, can effectively ignore racism in
American life, justify the current social order, and feel more
comfortable with their relatively privileged standing in society
(Fryberg, 2010). Most minorities, however, who regularly encounter
difficulties due to race, experience colorblind ideologies quite
differently. Colorblindness creates a society that denies their negative
racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates
their unique perspectives.
Let's break it down into simple terms:
Color-Blind = "People of color — we don't see you (at least not that bad
‘colored' part)." As a person of color, I like who I am, and I don't
want any aspect of that to be unseen or invisible. The need for
colorblindness implies there is something shameful about the way God
made me and the culture I was born into that we shouldn't talk about.
Thus, colorblindness has helped make race into a taboo topic that polite
people cannot openly discuss. And if you can't talk about it, you can't
understand it, much less fix the racial problems that plague our
society.
Colorblindness is not the answer
If you can't see it, you can't fix it.
Many Americans view colorblindness as helpful to people of
color by asserting that race does not matter (Tarca, 2005). But in
America, most underrepresented minorities will explain that race does
matter, as it affects opportunities, perceptions, income, and so much
more. When race-related problems arise, colorblindness tends to
individualize conflicts and shortcomings, rather than examining the
larger picture with cultural differences, stereotypes, and values placed
into context. Instead of resulting from an enlightened (albeit
well-meaning) position, colorblindness comes from a lack of awareness of
racial privilege conferred by
Whiteness
(Tarca, 2005). White people can guiltlessly subscribe to colorblindness
because they are usually unaware of how race affects people of color
and American society as a whole.
Colorblindness in a psychotherapeutic relationship
How
might colorblindness cause harm? Here's an example close to home for
those of you who are psychologically-minded. In the not-so-distant past,
in
psychotherapy
a client's racial and ethnic remarks were viewed as a defensive shift
away from important issues, and the therapist tended to interpret this
as resistance (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991). However, such an
approach hinders the exploration of conflicts related to race,
ethnicity, and culture. The therapist doesn't see the whole picture, and
the client is left frustrated.
A colorblind approach effectively
does the same thing. Blind means not being able to see things. I don't
want to be blind. I want to see things clearly, even if they make me
uncomfortable. As a therapist I need to be able to hear and "see"
everything my client is communicating on many different levels. I can't
afford to be blind to anything. Would you want to see a surgeon who
operated blindfolded? Of course not. Likewise, a therapist should not be
blinded either, especially to something as critical as a person's
culture or racial
identity.
By encouraging the exploration of racial and cultural concepts, the
therapist can provide a more authentic opportunity to understand and
resolve the client's problems (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991).
Nonetheless, I have encountered many fellow therapists who ascribe to a colorblind
philosophy.
They ignore race or pretend its personal, social, and historical
effects don't exist. This approach ignores the incredibly salient
experience of being stigmatized by society and represents an empathetic
failure on the part of the therapist. Colorblindness does not foster
equality or respect; it merely relieves the therapist of his or her
obligation to address important racial differences and difficulties.
Multiculturalism is better than blindness
Research
has shown that hearing colorblind messages predict negative outcomes
among Whites, such as greater racial bias and negative affect; likewise
colorblind messages cause stress in ethnic minorities, resulting in
decreased
cognitive
performance (Holoien et al., 2011). Given how much is at stake, we can
no longer afford to be blind. It's time for change and growth. It's time
to see.
The alternative to colorblindness is
multiculturalism,
an ideology that acknowledges, highlights, and celebrates ethnoracial
differences. It recognizes that each tradition has something valuable to
offer. It is not afraid to see how others have suffered as a result of
racial conflict or differences.
So, how do we become multicultural? The following suggestions would make a good start (McCabe, 2011):
- Recognizing and valuing differences,
- Teaching and learning about differences, and
- Fostering personal friendships and organizational alliances
Moving
from colorblindness to multiculturalism is a process of change, and
change is never easy, but we can't afford to stay the same.
References
Comas-Diaz,
L., and Jacobsen, F. M. (1991). Clinical Ethnocultural Transference and
Countertransference in the Therapeutic Dyad. American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry, 61(3), 392-402.
Fryberg, S. M. (2010).
When the World Is Colorblind, American Indians Are Invisible: A
Diversity Science Approach. Psychological Inquiry, 21(2), 115-119.
Holoien,
D. S., and Shelton, J. N. (October 2011). You deplete me: The cognitive
costs of colorblindness on ethnic minorities. Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.010.
McCabe,
J. (2011). Doing Multiculturalism: An Interactionist Analysis of the
Practices of a Multicultural Sorority. Journal of Contemporary
Ethnography, 40 (5), 521-549.
Tarca, K. (2005).
Colorblind in Control: The Risks of Resisting Difference Amid
Demographic Change. Educational Studies, 38(2), 99-120.
For
those of you who offered feedback about this article, I am sorry but
the comment area had to be closed due to a number of hateful,
threatening, and racist comments. There were too many responses for me
to reply to each one individually, but I did draft a collective response
that you can read here: Why People Cling to Racist Ideas
