From Colorblindness to Color Insight: How to acknowledge race and challenge social norms.

  

“Colorblindness is the New Racism”:

 Raising Awareness about Privilege Using Color Insight

Written by: Margalynne J. Armstrong and Stephanie M. Wildman

 Armstrong and Wildman argue that we as a society must identify and understand whiteness and its direct impact on education in the United States.  Armstrong and Wildman state that, “discrimination cannot end absent an understanding of the privilege dynamic that enables discrimination to continue.” (Armstrong and Wildman, 65)  The type of discrimination they are referring to is that of color blindness which has become the new norm and has made it increasingly more difficult to discuss race and discrimination within the classroom.  Armstrong and Wildman suggest that one solution to this is to shift one's mindset and gain a color insight which, “provides an appropriate antidote to colorblindness, one that remedies the omission of context in racial discourse.” (Armstrong and Wildman, 65)  This is the opposite of colorblindness because it provides people with the vocabulary necessary to discuss race and the power/privilege that is attached to it within education and the law. 

    Armstrong and Wildman state the whiteness is not often thought of as a race and therefore white privilege is often not acknowledged either.  White people avoid thinking about themselves as having a race because it is their race which defines the social norm.  This lack of acknowledgement brings about a type of discrimination referred to as color blindness.  They suggest that one way educators can begin this discussion with students and colleagues is to examine the role of colorblindness and develop color insight around power, privilege, and race. The privilege wheel is one way for professionals, students, and colleagues can identify their identity and see where they would fit on the privilege power line.

Figure 1: Privilege Wheel

    Traci Ellis speaks to this in her Ted talk titled, "The Exceptional Negro Living in a Colorblind World."  She speaks of how she has had fundamentally different experiences in the United States than that of white people.  She describes herself as a well educated and articulate "black woman and therefore she is seen as an exceptional Negros."  She describes exceptional Negros as African Americans who are well educated, articulate, well cultured, and seem to move effortlessly through white culture.  These African Americans also know how to behave in public and "don't fit into the stereo-types that are usually associated with black folks."  She states that, "We are safe and deemed exceptional" and are not a threat to the culture of power.  She, like Armstrong and Wildman , believes that white people say they do not see color as a means to not acknowledge race.  Similar to  Armstrong and Wildman she also states that, "failure to see color obscures racism and therefore perpetuates it".   Click the link below to listen to her thoughts and lived experiences of being an African american lawyer living in a world that admits to not seeing her color. 

                                                                          Traci Ellis

         Armstrong and Wildman state that, “Until educators teach about the importance of analyzing how privilege operates, students will graduate ill-equipped to work effectively in a diverse environment.”(Armstrong and Wildman, 66)  It is important for students to be taught about their identities and where it places them on the power line of privilege.  In doing so, we are able to explicitly teach the rules and norms of the culture of power. Lisa Delpit discusses five aspects that make up the culture of power.  The second aspect states that, “there are codes or rules for participating in power, that is, there is a “culture of power“ (Delpit, 25) The codes and rules she is referring to are the ways we talk, write, dress, and interact with one another.  Like Armstrong and Wildman, she believes that, “we must take the responsibility to teach, to provide for students who do not already possess them, the additional codes of power.”(Delpit, 40)  Similar to Armstrong and Wildman, Delpit shares similar beliefs that we as educators have an obligation to provide students with ALL of the necessary information so that they may have a chance to join into the culture of power.  

       Educators also need to speak openly and honestly to their students about race and racial justice within the United States.  The black lives matter movement is one way individuals have begun to draw attention to racial injustices that have impacted black culture and the African American community.  German Lopez, author of the article, Why you should stop saying “all lives matter,” explained in 9 different ways, draws attention to the name of the movement and the criticism it has received.  The name, “Black Lives Matters” calls attention to the idea that in the United States, black lives are undervalued and more likely ended by other people more than any other race.  They are choosing to speak the truth about the discrimination that their race has seen.  To quote Armstrong and Wildman, “Failure to speak the truth about race makes it difficult to dismantle racial inequality.”(Armstrong and Wildman, 66) Similar to Traci Ellis, "failure to see color obscures racism and therefore perpetuates it."  One can understand why the Black Lives Matters Organization received so much criticism, from many white Americans.  Their response was to say,“all lives matter” and not acknowledge the systematic racism that the movement is trying to bring to societies attention.  As educators we need to remember that, “Race remains a formative identity category that impacts the lives of both whites and people of color, albeit in different ways.”(Armstrong and Wildman, 67) 

So, then what is next?  How do we help the dominant culture to let go of  ego and open up to hearing others lived experiences without judgement or blame?   Armstrong and Wildman discuss the concept of color insight and it may be the first step.  Color insight is the opposite of colorblindness.  It calls to light the idea that as educators we need to begin the conversation about the implications of being colorblind.  They state that, “Color insight provides a vocabulary for teaching across racial lines….color insight contrasts with colorblindness by offering an alternative that better serves the purported goals of colorblindness: racial equality and justice.”(Armstrong and Wildman, 68)  Color insight identifies that there is a racial status quo that exists and it is because of this status quo that society identifies a race to each member of society.  Color insight encourages us to notice and name the races of others around you and that privilege and racism does in fact still impact peoples’ lives.  Allan Johnson, Author of Privilege, Power, and Difference stated that, “you can’t deal with a problem if you don’t name it; once you name it, you can think, talk, and write about it.  You can make sense of it by seeing how it’s connected to other things that explain it and point toward solutions.``(Johnson, 11)  Color insight brings awareness, promotes equality,  and nondiscrimination among races.  Color insight  names the problem and gives a solution so that we may begin to have the necessary conversations.  As educators we must move from endorsing colorblindness to supporting color insight. Color insight allows us to acknowledge and name race and how the implications of one's race has an impact on that individual's privilege power line.  

Identity, race, power, and privilege need to be named and discussed, .  They make up the structure, system, and the machine that keeps the power in place.  Naming the “why” will begin to break the cycle of power. It will begin to build bridges between individuals across identities and races. We want to eventually be at a place where all races have equality and access to privilege simply because they are human and not because they are a part of the dominant social category.  

Sources

Armstrong, Margalynne and Wildman, Stephanie.  Deconstructing Privilege: Colorblindness Is The New Racism: Raising Awareness about Privilege Using Color Insight.  Routledge, 2013                            ISBN:  9780415641463

Delpit, Lisa.  The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children.  The New Press, New York.  1995/2006

Johnson, Allan G.  Privilege, Power, and Difference.  Mayfield Publishing Company, California. 2001

Lopez, German. Why You Should Stop Saying, “All Lives Mattered” Explained in 9 Different Ways.  Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12136140/black-all-lives-matter on May 22, 2023

Traci Ellis TEDx Talk: The Exceptional Negro: Fighting to be seen in a Colorblind Word. 

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqvZRO2LPmw&t=222s