Is colorblindness or multiculturalism better?
*Is colorblindness or multiculturalism better for minorities? | Exploring race.
I don’t pretend that this isn’t complicated stuff, which, by the way, has implications beyond the workplace. It’s complicated because people of color often say, ‘See us as individuals,’ which suggests a colorblind approach is preferable. But they also say, ‘Recognize that minorities in their various groups have differences that should be acknowledged and even celebrated,’ which implies multiculturalism is the way to go.
I have some views on this question, which probably aren’t hard to figure out if you’ve read my posts in the past. But I’m curious as to what you folks think, and how you personally navigate the issue of race, ethnicity and culture?
Do you think that an approach of colorblindness is preferable to an approach of multiculturalism?
How do you tend to approach things in your personal and/or professional life?
Is there a point where either the multicultural or the colorblind approach can change from being a positive to a negative one?
*P.S. for my friends who show up in the photo above. I hope you don’t mind. It’s a good illustration
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1
Seeing people as individuals does not mean necessarily being colorblind. It means, look at the individual, maybe judge based on character, and accept the individual’s culture. The basic idea of being color blind is to not associate generalizations of people of a certain color to this one individual. Of course, this is a different story when it comes to things like Affirmative Action, as being color bind may imply not being amenable to such policies.
2
I agree that seeing people as individuals is not equal to being colorblind. I think the concept of colorblindness the writer is talking about is exemplified in the phrase “I don’t really see you as [insert ethnicity here] I just see you as a person”
Personally, I don’t think that’s a good approach. Instead I would advocate that people aim for an approach where they see someone as a person with their ethnicity and culture(and whatever that means for them) intact.
3
right on Richard. I commented on that post at the Reconciliation Blog and if you read through the comments I think you come across examples of the very problem your talking about.
Denying or being ‘blind’ to color and ethnicity simply lets the dominate culture take precedent and be ‘normal’ which has dangerous and very negative implications.
Thanks for sharing.