Preview

Is the Emphasis on a Color-Blind Society an Answer to Racism

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1095 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is the Emphasis on a Color-Blind Society an Answer to Racism
Is the emphasis on a Color-Blind Society an Answer to Racism?

Racism is a word that sparks a nerve in many individuals today. As hard as it is to believe, racism is still a big factor in what we as a society know as a unified America. Although, it is not as obvious as it was in the past, it still goes on, just in ways that are less noticeable. We ask the question, is the emphasis on a color-blind society an answer to racism. Ward Connerly claims it is a way to stop the segregation and make America a whole as it has been striving to be for the longest. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva believes color-blind racism is the new racial ideology and still brings about racial inequality. As the solution to the question progresses, we ask ourselves, will a color-blind society change the way whites view blacks and minorities? Will it change the discrimination that is brought about everyday from individualistic opinions? Those that say they are not biased against other races are the main ones that are judgmental to how certain ethnicities act. Regardless of a color-blind society, there is still going to be racial inequality.

Color-blind racism is basically racism that acts as if color doesn’t matter, when in actuality, it really does. Whites believe that if they use color-blind racism, they aren’t racist. They bypass the word “black” and use other words to substitute it for. They bypass the word “race” and instead use words such as “ethnicity,” “culture” or “background” to make their statements not sound so harsh. Despite the fact that they believe they may not sound prejudiced at the time that does not stop them from thinking it. As Eduardo Bonilla-Silva believes, color-blind racism may not be as crude as the Jim Crow era, but it resembles it in a more minor way. For example, whites will vote for a black man for President of the United States, but they still look down on the black society, most likely hoping that the “black President” will help those stereotypes.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In America, the racial divide between whites and blacks is quickly growing. To fully understand racism, it is necessary to look at how power in the hands of white people has consequently led to oppression and racism towards people of color. Many people, particularly whites, believe that racism stemmed from physical differences between whites and people of color; however, if one truly examines racial differences they will see that these so called “differences” are more social than physical. For centuries, white people have held specific biases and prejudices against people of color, claiming that they were inferior to whites. This notion of subordination began because the white men held the highest form of power one can hold; the power of…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the reading of color -blind racism by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, the topic of people (mostly white) saying that they are color-blind and don't really see race anymore. In this reading we see more than one way of how this statement is not fully true, so Bonilla-Silva came up with "color-blind racism". In the reading we get different frames of color-blind racism and the form that best fits my article is the naturalization form. On CNN in 2014, two photos were shown to a group of people (black and white). The first one was two white men fighting, one had a knife and the other was unarmed.…

    • 216 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    How to Talk Nasty about Blacks without Sounding “Racist”. Color blind to racism is held to have led to the segregation of the white race from other minorities called white habitus. Color blind racism and white habitus has affected many people for example it segregate white from non-white by promoting a white culture of harmony and it give nonwhite and people of color a negative view, whom don’t even realize that they are, or will be affected.…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone who lives in America is aware of the racial prejudices that have blighted our country since its founding. Racism runs rampant throughout American history, and while there is no doubt that there have been great strides in improving racial relations, it is still a major issue today. It is a conspicuous problem, and because it is so obvious ,it is one that most of us strive to fight against. Shankar Vedantam, in his essay Shades of Prejudice, tells us of a more insidious form of prejudices, one that infects not only our country, but great parts of the world; a strong bias against darker skin tones, which he calls colorism.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America as many may know, is a country bounded by the label of “the melting pot.” This title once described the country to a T. Over time, things have changed, the overall attitude of America has shifted. Now-a-days you would only think this from an outside perspective.” In the case of the African Americans has the melting pot failed to bring a minority into the full stream of American life,” (Kennedy, 27). Kennedy believed that discrimination was one of the biggest flaws in the failure of the melting pot, and it is not only African Americans, but it is other races too. We may be called united, but are we really?…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    | The author make a real good argument for affirmative action, he stated in his opening statement that affirmative action is coming to a end, but, how do we make this transition from a paradigm in which race just seeps out of everyone pore of the body politic. He also mentions the only way to resolve this problem is not by racism. I believe if we come together as a nation and a family and forget about the color of a person skin, we can end racism. There is too much prejudice in our society, sometime we camouflage our prejudice, because we don’t want anyone to know. The author points are will state and valid.…

    • 2109 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the first chapter of his book Racism without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva argues that color-blind racism, a new racial ideology which emerged in the late 1960s (16), has become “a formidable political tool” for “the maintenance of the racial order” and “white privilege” in the “post-Civil Rights era” (3). According to his argument about color-blind racism, in contemporary America, although few whites appear like racists, racial inequality does exist everywhere (2). Racism changed from “overt means” of discrimination to “subtle and institutional practices” (3). “Nonracial dynamics” become “white common sense” about explanations…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the example presented my two options are to take the color-blind approach or the multicultural approach. The color-blind approach focuses on the mindset that people are the same wherever they go. In other words the best way to end racism is to treat everyone the same. This approach “facilities” an easy way to deal with race but in reality I believe is only making it worse because no matter how hard we try it is impossible to ignore someone’s background. Our book established that people can adopt an “us versus them” mind-set. “In support of this perspective, much research has shown that people can very easily be led to adopt and “us versus them” mind-set and favor of their own group over other groups” page 26 Attention to differences between…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Colorblins In Race

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In this excerpt, from the novel “Clashing Views in Race and Ethnicity,” two views are stated on the concept of a “color-blind” society. The person in support of a society as such, was a black man, with a mixed-racial background. He viewed these racial categorizations present today, on the same continuum used during Jim Crow and slavery. Overall, he cringed at the thought of division due to race from other groups of people. I believe his take was a form of ignorance. A colorblind society to him, a black man, is to not label him by his race. A colorblind society to white people, specifically those that are racist, is to ignore the existence of race that they have fabricated, and racist acts that they have committed against minority groups. A…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prejudice is unfortunately a common theme in today’s society, especially in America. Certain races and ethnicities are immensely affected by the inequity. America is supposed to be the land of the free where everyone is equal and there are no judgments based on your past or where you live or even who your relatives are. However, that is far beyond the truth. In reality, your wealth and your opportunities depend on the color of your skin and even your name. America is not the best, it is a work in progress with the potential to be the best.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    These elements tend to foster pride for individual identity; denying people their identities is not indicative of racial progress, rather it is a step backwards, placing us in America’s rampant tendencies of racism whilst attempting to conceal unequal power structures of America. The denials of identities have led to dehumanizing situations. During the late 19th and early 20th century, America created initiatives for Indian Boarding Schools, which were used for the purpose of forced assimilation of Natives. These schools were used to “kill the Indian, save the Man.”, and impacted the culture, language, and traditions of Natives. This attempt of enforced assimilation is drastic but correlates highly with thought processes of the minimization of race. Colorblindness tends to equate race to something negative with phrases like “I don’t see color, I just see people.”. What these people are saying when they claim colorblindness, is that they see people despite their race. Many people in modern day society claim colorblindness, saying that race is not a characteristic that they see nor is it one they use to form any opinions about another person. White people use the colorblindness argument assuming that seeing race would lead to their demarcation as racist. The fear of discussing topics related to race and ethnicity reinforces the idea that having a racial and ethnic identity other than whiteness is wrong. But rejecting to discuss topics of race and ethnicity proves that to some degree, these people hold prejudices and thoughts about other races they have yet to challenge, and are not willing to critically analyze their position in society which allows them to opt out of discussion on race. By discussing race, it is reaffirmed that there is nothing wrong with having a racial and ethnic identity, rather the problem lies with the structure and makeup of our…

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In an article written by, Texas A&M University Sociology Professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva called, The Linguistics of Color Blind Racism: How to Talk Nasty about Blacks without Sounding Racist, Bonilla-Silva carefully explains and analyzes the different tactics employed by whites to make comments with racist undertones without outwardly sounding racist that aid in maintaining the racial ideology known as color blind racism. The basis of Bonilla-Silva’s research was supplied from an array of different people, some being university students from the state of Michigan, and the others being residents of the Detroit metropolitan area, who each then participated in different interviews conducted by various groups. Based on the responses of the interviewees,…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Colorblindness

    • 764 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The fact that colorblindness encourages us to ignore the issue of race and racism actually can make racism worse. Colorblind universalism suggests that instead of focusing on particular races or racism in general, we should create opportunities or universal programs to uplift all people in jobs, education, and health care. However, it is important to note that the white public probably does not view this ‘social policy’ in the same way that the creators of this idea do. According to many whites, the efforts made in universal uplifts such as more funding in schools, job creations, and universal health care are proposed in order to assist people of color. Because of this, clearly, racism is simply supported and perhaps more likely to occur as people catch on to this particular view of this social policy.…

    • 764 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Color blindness or also referred to as race blindness is the exclusion of race in the assessment of a human being. Color blindness is a new concept that strives to mineralize racial discrimination. Our society has strived to find a state of colorblindness but has yet to succeed. Past discriminations have hindered the progress of colorblindness in society. Due to racism in the past many hurdles were created for minorities to overcome in the present. Hurdles such as poverty and negative stereotypes. These hurdles in turn have made it hard for our society to truly become color blind. The racism from the past has made our society unable to truly practice colorblindness because it has caused individual, institutional, and systemic discrimination in the present.…

    • 1631 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Intelligence Led Policing

    • 3151 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Gross, E. (2006). CHAPTER SIX: The Right to Privacy in Times of Terrorism. (pp. 157-…

    • 3151 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays

Related Topics