As children, we’re often taught to love everyone despite our differences and do unto others what we’d want them to do to us. We’ve grown up to label ourselves as “colorblind” to the fact that there are people of different races and ethnicities. What does being colorblind mean? Most people would say the term is used to explain that the color of one’s skin does nothing to their senses or judgement about that person. Although that perspective sounds like a good thing and convincing, it’s not quite true.

Today, we live in a world where, unfortunately, the color of a person’s skin has the ability to affect their future and successfulness in life. The common stereotypes of different races are in the back of our head when we encounter a stranger, whether we admit it or act on those thoughts. Many testimonials from minorities have been given about the treatment they face because of profiling and negative stereotypes. For instance, some people automatically become anxious when they see a Saudi Arabian passenger on a plane or even just a Black man running down the street. We don’t know the motives of these people, yet we choose to make those assumptions in our heads, all because of negatively portrayed stereotypes.

These stereotypes come from many different platforms, such as social media, the news, and in some cases, simply what we’ve been exposed to and seen on a firsthand basis. So with all of these bad images easily spewing through our lives with the common resources we use, how is it possible to be colorblind and not judge someone based off of the color of their skin? The answer is we can’t. Everyone judges and profiles to a degree. The only problem comes when we act off of these assumptions in a bad manner. When we begin to not accept others and not give them equal treatment because of the way they look, we can no longer hide behind the “colorblind” mask of protection, and must be willing to discuss things like race and be conscious as individuals of the way it plays a role in our lives, as well as others'.