Color-Blinded or Color-Minded?

Amber Hannah

AFA 3104

Prof. Sylvester Cohen

3/11/16

Color-Blinded or Color-Minded?

Color has been an issue that has spanned across millenniums. Emphasis on whether it is viable as a tools for social ranking, grounds for degradation, or a staple for one’s entire being have been toyed with and will probably never yield a true answer. In a country found on slavery and an unequal mindset, it is hard to imagine how we could move forward. Attempts have been made to do so, but is putting emphasis on the issue as a disease to society the actual problem? Or is making deliberate strides to disseminate race in all facets in America the true answer? Both views are possible and pose different answers to a seemingly insolvable issue.

For many years people have tried the method of ignoring color all together. By erasing the premises originally made by America as a means of classification for economic and social purposes. The social construct set in place was carried away by the people themselves which is why it has prospered. Especially in the white view, the supremacy it is afforded yields tangible dividends in every sense of the word, and for Blacks we get the shorthand. I experienced this shorthand throughout my years at North Florida Christian School. I attended there from age three to the 8th grade. This was a predominantly white school in which only a handful of minorities attended. During my elementary and younger years, I thought I was at the best place in the world. Honestly, it was a form of brainwash; I knew nothing of what being African American meant or the heritage that I came from. I spoke, acted, and wore as the people around me. I thought public schools harbored delinquents and I wanted nothing to do with them. It got so bad to the point that when I would get in trouble, my mom would use putting me at Brevard Elementary School and Cobb Middle School as a way to get me to straighten up because I was utterly terrified for the idea. I regret that because it tainted by childhood which poured over into my older years. Nonetheless, when I went to middle school, the dynamic shifted. Obviously with each year the competitive spirit of life become for evident. I was the only black girl in all of the advanced classes along with one black boy. The the slick mark about our hair or how big our lips were, became more evident. The difference in our features from theirs became the highlights of jokes, arguments and even general conversation. This trend stayed when I decided to attend a public school for high school. As long as I was black, none of my achievement amounted to that of a white girl. I was opted out of awards, accolades, and many recognitions simply because of my skin color. Now that I attend a Historically Black College, I have formulated the belief that while I am a full supporter of integration, it is in no way a fix to the problem of racism. I find it quite amusing that the same country that made the race barrier, does little to fix its harmful mark on history. In the reading it was suggested that if we make a colorblind society, this would solve the problem. But the race separation is too instilled into the minds of everyone that theres no way it can be reversed. Color may not matter to seemingly “non-racists,” but lets face it. Everyone has a situation or a case in which race will definitely play a factor. For instance, I have no ptoblem with white people, but in the event that I lose an opportunity because of race I’ll mention the issue. My mother instinctively asks if the people I tell her about when I come home are black or white as well. Even white people who make the same claim won’t allow their kids to bring home a black person as a mate or it’s World War 3. No matter what provisions are made for that making of a colorless society, it will not work. At all. No ifs ands or buts about it, it will fail. Classification and organization are the driving force on this earth. Take that out, and people are lost. Take off the color codes of the human race and people will lose themselves. What then of our HBCU’s that pride themselves in the very separation that makes them the institutions they are? What about the whites and blacks that have already had it ingrained in their mind that color is a thing in society and use it as a basis of maintaining their everyday life? It is in these situations and most others that a colorblind society will not be bought into the lives of many. That would have to have been implemented with the Founding Fathers of the United States, but that wouldn’t have been so because they themselves owned slaves. As great as that would sound as a means of economic and social advancement, I wouldn’t want that either. I take a lot of pride in my melanin-rich skin and the thought of someone taking that away is scary. It’s like I was back at NFC – I knew that I was different from the people around me but I had no like-minded, skinned, or ideals to go off of. Because no matter what laws are in place in America, white people will always think of themselves are superior and will do anything to let black people know that very ideal. If we’re not entertainers or athletes, we aren’t deemed as useful.