Color Blindness: An Answer or a Cop Out?

Color Blindness: An Answer or A Cop Out?

Equality has been something that America, as a country, has warred with since its founding. Racial equality, above all others, has been the greatest battle the country has faced and has yet to win. It actually seems as if we have grown weary and have decided to throw in the towel. The solution that we have seemed to settle for is a policy of color blindness. Color blindness, or race blindness, as defined by Webster's Dictionary, is a sociological term referring to the disregard of racial characteristics when selecting which individuals will participate in some activity or receive some service. For example, when applying for a job, applicants no longer have to specify their race in order to prevent prejudice when the position is being filled. Some people believe that this policy is an answer to an old-age problem. However, Eduardo Bonna-Sivilia is correct when he states that this color-blind society is just a new form of racism in which there are no racists. It is nothing more than a cop out for racists that has been disguised as a great idea used to mislead unsuspecting whites and pacify minorities.

There is a strong belief that history repeats itself and that it is inevitable, but progressive thinkers learn from the mistakes of the past and do what they can in order to not make those same mistakes. America prides itself on being progressive and innovative so, it is shocking to hear that Americans are so willing to take a step back several decades and revert back to behavior that greatly divided the country instead of coming up with a real solution to racism. They have even taken the time to create a new name for this theory; race blindness. As Bonna-Sivilia mentions in his article Racism With No Racist, Racist whites have found ways to separate minorities from whites without the blatant 'Whites Only' signs from the 50's and Jim Crow laws that plagued the country for almost a century. It happens in schools, neighborhoods, and even the job market. As much as it may be claimed, there is still not racial equality in America. Removing race from applications does not remove it from the culture. In reality, it only leaves minorities empty handed in the war against racism. Without race being reported on applications of any kind, there is no evidence that racial discrimination is occurring. It takes information to collect the statistics that are reported in research. Also, there are many other ways to guess the race of a person by things provided on a common application; names, addresses, credit scores, job history, schools attended, etc. There are common last names that belong to certain races. For example, Ana Maria Hernandez would be assumed to be a Hispanic female and Leon Johnson would be assumed to be a black male. Many neighborhoods are known for the type of people who live there. Sadly, wealth and prestige are not commonly associated