Seeing A Colorblind Future The Paradox Of Race Essay

When discussing race, having the right intention is not nearly enough to ensure progress in racial tensions; as such, only positive, tangible action can be the catalyst for change in race discourse. This general rule can help when looking at the concept of colorblindness as a supposedly well-meaning myth, which realistically only serves to continue racist attitudes and systems. Using a critical lens to determine the harm caused by colorblindness can diminish the impact and eventually eradicate a source of racist microagressions. Patricia Williams explores the inherently harmful idea of colorblindness in her book Seeing a Colorblind Future: The Paradox of Race, through exemplary anecdotal evidence. This paper aims to analyze one such anecdote to fully explain the pervasive and malicious way colorblindness is employed in everyday life. When speaking of the ideal society, a common utopian theme is often described: the perfect world would be blind to differences like class, educational l evel, religion, sexuality, gender identity, and race, yet encouraging of uniqueness and individuality. When speaking in terms of race, this seemingly perfect utopian concept is called colorblindness and actually exacerbates racist attitudes and social systems. Within this ideal there is a stark ideological contradiction in which race, one of the things that bonds people to one another, to their cultures and places of origin, is not allowed to be a factor in individuality—racial identityShow MoreRelatedCollege Program On The Ung Campus1526 Words   |  7 Pagesprogram has definitely influenced me as a future educator. Before I got to know these students individually, I was really concerned about the language barrier. All I was aware of was the fact that these students were ELL’s. As I progressed through these hours, I began to mentally train myself for future potential situations and wrote down a few things I definitely do not want to do as a future educator. The first thing I definitely do not want to do as a future educator is to view all students as the