You Say Colorblind, I Say Intellectually Lazy
When Barack Obama won the primaries much attention was paid to my generation’s reasons for voting for him. Apparently, we’re color blind.
Firstly, are we watching the same election?
Is this the same election where Obama’s racial authenticity has been called into question? Where his bid has sparked numerous discussions about the black experience in America—highlighting persistent inequality? Where the role of his race in the election is at once celebrated and used as fuel for racist tirades at home and abroad?
You cannot get away from race in this election which is why when someone says that my generation is color blind I’m not celebrating, I’m worried. Color blindness during a time when race is being discussed not just in terms of controversy ( i.e. affirmative action) but in terms of its impact on our day to day lives sounds more like intellectual laziness than progressivism.
This lack of input is even more startling when we realize that my generation is increasingly at the forefront of a racially charged issue: gentrification. While many may say the issue is rooted in class, the controversy rests in how people view the changing landscape of neighborhoods–changes that become evident first in culture. For example, my return to the neighborhood where I grew up (Bed Stuy, Marcy Projects) would be celebrated since it is seen as me bringing my capital back to my community. A white person with my same capital is assumed to bring a new culture and thus is seen as invasive.
And this hostility, while seen as an inevitable by product of gentrification, appears irrational as we realize that a. the rate of people moving out of neighborhoods because rising costs is less than 1% and b. the rate of blacks moving out is twice as high as white people moving in.
Maybe we don’t have the language to discuss race in a useful manner. Maybe we are tired of all the race talk because we don’t see anything beneficial coming out of it. Or maybe some of us truly don’t think about race. Yet this kind of silence does more harm than good as it implies that our generation is not concerned or involved in an issue that impacts the relationships and livelihoods of people in this country.
I agree with you to a certain extent but I will say that I am personally tired of hearing about how Obama is the first black male to get this far. This is not a reason to vote for him but to many it is the driving reason. At the end of the day I am more concerned with the winner going into that office and making some changes. Obama’s color does nothing to impact any difficulties that are going on socially, economically, etc. Yes it counts as a huge step for the african american race but there is so much more to be worrying about now than his color. I am more worried about him living up to his words if he is elected.
Great insights though!
@ Tiffany: That wasnt my point but you bring up something interesting.
Race has been discussed in a myriad of ways not limited to the historic significance of Obama’s candidacy. For example, more attention has been paid to inequality facing black americans, a result of his candidacy even if he himself is not starting these discussions. My concern is that our generation is absent from these discussions and retorting with “Hey i dont see color, I just see him as a person.”
It isnt just about him; his presence is significant in a variety of ways I wish our generation would pay more attention instead of saying “omg im colorblind.”
I think it’s simply silly to think that living in the US (or most of the world, at this rate) hasn’t fed us clandestine racism (if not blatantly overt racism), and it’s furthermore ridiculous for anyone (much less white kids!) to say that they “don’t see color.” They “don’t see it” only because they CHOOSE not to, and they have the privilege to make that choice. Other folks don’t have that option because their color forces them onto a higher level of social consciousness every single day. Failing to recognize that color matters (or, at the very least, culture matters) in a world so full of racism and hatred is blatantly ignorant. I bet if white people didn’t see Obama as a man that “transcends color” and lets them forget their role in a culture of white supremacy, they wouldn’t be voting for him.
Good post.
- a white girl in chicago
@Mariya: Agreed–I really think it ends up being a cop out. However your post has also brought my attention to how race is often spoekn about as “their problem.” Meaning white people have no need to be involved since they arent a race, which is completely wrong.
At the same time, young people of color are also choosing to opt out of these discussions and play the “race doesnt matter card.” I think it is because we are attaching race too much to Obama instead of examining it as a larger social issue. Obama has nothing to do with the issue in and of itself, rather his presense is a catalyst.
people of all races, I think, are somewhat buying into the propaganda we are being fed about how race doesn’t matter because we suddenly have a Black man running for president.
i really wonder what it will take to get people to see that we’re all in this world together and that holding on to hatred and misunderstanding is only the most unproductive thing you can do with your time here.
Barack Obama, the magical negro strikes again! All of a sudden his legitimacy as a candidate has erased all thoughts of racial inequality. Suddenly, because he can do…we all can. I don’t know, but I think its funny because he surely has removed his blackness from this campaign.