The new American president recently called for a colorblind society. In theory, it is the dream. For those not aware, a colorblind society does not see race.
It is perfect, right? We can get rid of racism! We can solve all the social ills. People won’t even get upset when a Black guy is in their fantasy stories anymore. It’ll be wonderful.
Here is the thing though, a colorblind society in today’s America is just not realistic.
Whenever I hear someone say something along the lines of “I don’t see color,” my sensors go off.
At its most innocent, I’m dealing with someone who is truly ignorant of how race impacts life in America. Although it is growing harder for me to believe these people still exist, it is possible.
I went to a predominantly white college, and in one of my first classes, the professor asked us to raise our hands if we had ever had a real conversation with someone of a different race. He said, “I’m not talking about cashiers or waiters but a real conversation.”
The class was all white outside of myself. No white hands went up.
I think it was the first time I realized most white people could easily navigate life without interacting with minorities. Even in the predominantly minority school in which I teach, most of the white students are in diversity-deficient advanced classes.
When Black people are background characters in your life, criminals on your television, and targets for your political leaders, it is easy to view them as the enemy. The subconscious says Black people are a monolith and that monolith is something to hate and fear.
When you can go through most of your life not thinking about the experiences of others, it is easy to say “erase all experiences outside of my own” which happens to be the dominant experience. By calling for a colorblind society, even the most innocent are calling for a society in which only the white experience matters. Ironically, this is how it has always been for a majority of Americans.
The other people who claim to be colorblind tend to do so with malicious intent. Look, everyone knows Make America Great Again translates to Make America straight and white and male-dominated again. America is still very much straight and white and male-dominated but those other groups were becoming slightly more visible.
Push them down. Put them in their place. Get them out my face.
They don’t want to think about them. I joked earlier about people getting upset about a Black guy being in their fantasy story, but it is true. This happens constantly if any character outside of the standard white guy takes center stage, and in many cases, minority groups aren’t even allowed to be supporting characters.
A call for a colorblind society is about maintaining power and sowing division although it claims to be the opposite. It is a dog whistle, and I am forced to assume anyone who calls for it plans to actively harm minority groups.
The president is also eliminating all DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs. DEI programs simply attempt to ensure the fair and inclusive treatment of groups who have historically been marginalized or underrepresented.
Yet, like anything involving diverse groups, it has become a hot political topic. “DEI hire” has taken the place of “affirmative action hire” but it is all the same. You aren’t a white man so the only reason you are in this position is because you received special treatment.
They never consider the biases that exist in which white men tend to pick other white men for high-level jobs. They don’t consider how connections are a major asset when looking for employment, something minority groups tend to not have because of generations of connections built by white people. Knowing someone’s grandad does not equate to being good at a job.
Black people tend to receive most of the spotlight when complaints about DEI come up, but white women have benefited the most from these programs. There seems to be this need for certain people to believe we are completely incompetent and incapable of doing a job.
I recently had an associate I admire complain about a situation. They used the phrase DEI hire in a response to a message but quickly edited the message to remove it.
I didn’t confront the person because it is a public space, but it told me something. He understood that using DEI hire in that context comes off as reductive and prejudiced. There was no other reason to delete it outside of realizing who he was talking to and how it would sound. Whenever I hear someone say “DEI hire,” they do so with a level of disgust usually reserved for stepping in manure barefoot.
They know what they are doing when they shout DEI hire and they know what they are doing when they eliminate the programs.
I wish we were ready for a colorblind society, but there is far too much hate for that. There is too much desire to ship people away, erase identities, and control the narrative.
Someday, I hope we get to a point where we all respect and love each other for our differences, not just our similarities. For a while there, I thought we were making some progress.
The progress, that one tiny step forward, scared a majority of the country into taking two large steps back.
We aren’t ready.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of LG Ware's work on Medium.