If you've ever uttered the sentence "I don't see color," this article is for you. If you make an effort to disregard the color of someone's skin, this article is also for you. If race relations and specific ethnic empowerment talk or movements make you uncomfortable, this article is still for you...but it may be a little hard for you to read.
When I was in high school I was told, countless times by many people, that I was the "whitest" Black girl they knew and that they often "forgot I was even Black." This was usually followed up with these same people insisting that they participate in avid, voluntary ignorance of a person's skin color. Back then, I didn't really think anything of these statements. In fact, I often commended the person for being so noble as to erase a portion of an individual's identity in order to treat them equally or at least see them as equals. I thought this was fine. Spoiler alert: this is not fine.
Color blindness is problematic for so many reasons (we're speaking of the voluntary overlooking of someone's race or ethnicity, not the abnormal vision condition) but the root of the issue is that most individuals who resort to color blindness to ensure others of their allegiance to equality often forget one very important component: the presence of color blindness is the absence of diversity. If you don't see color, then diversity is not an option for you and even if you were immersed in it, you wouldn't be able to appreciate it because you can't even see it.
Refusing, or insinuating that you "can't" see someone's skin color, is basically erasing a portion of their identity; as if that specific piece of them is what is keeping us from being or eventually becoming "one." Within an individual's skin color is ethnicity, culture, history, empowerment and you're erasing it all. When you decide to participate in color blindness, you are saying that race is the issue standing in the way of equality and that we should get rid of the issue. But race is not the issue: racism is. And that won't just dissipate if we simply stop acknowledging race.
Instead of insisting on categorizing everyone into one gray blob in order for there to finally be peace on Earth, try to practice appreciation. Instead of disregarding someones race, ethnicity or culture, appreciate it. The world is a huge place with many different people with many different skin tones and hair textures and accents and eyes; appreciate all of it. Acknowledge the difference and bask in the dopeness of it all. Don't disregard what makes someone beautiful, strong or proud for your own gain or your own comfort. You may think saying you don't see color makes you the Mother Theresa of race relations but in reality, you're subverting diversity and diminishing and dismantling what makes others proud of who they are; you're becoming part of the problem.
