In their piece “Colorblindness is
the New Racism,” Armstrong and Wildman make a case that the term “colorblind”
in regards to a cultural “touchstone in race discourse” (64) is in fact
hindering the idea it sets forth. In
other words, the authors are suggesting that the colorblind mentality (not paying
any attention to color or racial differences) is not working and actually…
ironically…has worked against its fundamental components. OK…I get the idea…I get the term…however, I don’t
think in reality anyone could ever really believe that “it”….colorblindness…could
ever exist in the real world. We all well aware of race and color and in denying
that fact we are simply pretending. What
the authors are suggesting is that we create a new term and thus a new
mentality in “color insight” (65). Color insight involves four steps with the
ultimate goal of understanding both race as an underlying context and the
systems of power and privilege. However,
it also asks us to come to a deeper understanding about individuals (the “me”)
as people with distinct histories and perspectives and not simply a color or a
label.
Armstrong and Wildman argue that
whites in general do not really think too much about their own race. The authors see this unawareness as privilege
playing out in many scenarios. “Whites
tend not to notice that they too have a race and their own race carries social
meaning and generally positive presumptions” (66). I tend to agree with this idea; I think that
most whites take for granted that their race allows them a certain power and
privilege in most aspects of life. I
thought it was particularly interesting to read excerpts from students who were
asked to notice race in their worlds for a 24 hour period. It was only in this acute awareness and self
reflection that they became more aware of how their “whiteness” gave them
certain advantages and how others’ “non-whiteness” worked against them. I think, as the authors suggest, that it is
extremely important to be aware of privilege in our own lives but also not
limit our perspective to race…or color…or gender… or class. We need to be able to delve a bit deeper and
see individuals as first and foremost people; color insight allows for that.
In addition to the
Armstrong/Wildman piece, I also read “stealing a bag of chips and other crimes
of resistance” by Victor Rios. Rios did
a study in which he follows a group of underprivileged boys and tries to get to
the root of their “bad” behavior. Rios
suggests that many of these boys find that the only way they earn power and respect
is by committing crimes. He feels as
though many of these boys have felt left out of a system which fosters and
rewards “good behavior.” “Feelings of
exclusion from a network of positive credentials, education, and employment opportunities
led to resistance identities”(50). He
further suggests that, paradoxically, these boys commit crimes in response to
their criminalization. “Many of the
young men self-consciously ‘acted stupid’ as a strategy to discredit the
significance of a system which had excluded and punished them”(53). They are, sadly, using the only method they
know how to use to fight against a system that has excluded them. I think this idea is true and, in addition, I
don’t think it’s changing. There is a
certain culture that values crime as a way to earn power and respect. Unfortunately, events such as what happened
in Ferguson, Missouri only add fuel to the fire by continuing to foster a sense
of exclusion for blacks and power, control and authority for whites.
In this youtube clip, a man speaks to the culture of crime in regards to the Ferguson riots. He has also received a great deal of backlash from the black community in response to his comments...food for thought...
One of the things that came up with me over and over this week, and your blog brought it up again, is, are we teaching our young people the right lessons? Is the success we envision for them really right for all of them? My fear is that we are teaching in a consumer-based, materialistic society, and reinforcing the messages that our young people are bombarded with already. Maybe working 60 hours per week to earn lots of money, in pursuit of property and "stuff" is not the measure of success that society has made it out to be. Maybe time and personal relationships are the currency we should be pushing? Our young people, especially those who are working-class, or underprivileged may use petty crime as a method of control and resistance, and to be able to place value on something other than what they are told. I think if we learned to value the individual, over an image of success, we could build a lot more bridges. Also your video was very provoking, I wonder where those type of messages fit in our conversation, and how it would have played if it was a white male saying exactly the same things.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts, Brian and Melissa. I agree with your point, Melissa, that it's mind-blowing to begin to think about the certain privileges we have that we don't ever question, until we are specifically told to pay attention to them. I interpreted Rios' piece similarly, and was flabbergasted by Ronny's response as to why he didn't shake the woman's hand after the interview (50). It's all about the codes of power...there are certain things we have to tell our students explicitly, like "shaking someone's hand (regardless of your race and/or their race) after an interview is seen as polite and will earn your points."
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I watched the uTube video. I can see how he received a great deal of backlash from his remarks. But some of them greatly struck me. We he talked about the drive by shootings, the death of the little girl riding her tricycle because a stray bullet hit her and the gang violence, he brought up a valid point. Where are the rioters, the people wanting to make a change when black people are killing black people. I think he had meaning to his rant and maybe we need to approach these racial situations, like Ferguson from two fronts. We need to address the black/white issues and the black/black issues. I think back to our reading and whether we will be able to reduce/eliminate racial prejudice if we don't attack it from both ends.
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