Impactful Inclusion Toolkit

ACTIVITY 40Remove the (Color) Blinders

“The shift may, in fact, come as something of a relief, as it moves our collective focus away from a wholly unrealistic goal to one that is within anyone's reach right now. After all, to aspire to colorblindness is to aspire to a state of being in which you are not capable of seeing racial difference—a practical impossibility for most of us. The shift also invites a more optimistic view of human capacity. The colorblindness ideal is premised on the notion that we, as a society, can never be trusted to see race and treat each other fairly or with genuine compassion. A commitment to color consciousness, by contrast, places faith in our capacity as humans to show care and concern for others, even as we are fully cognizant of race and possible racial differences.”

—Michelle Alexander

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I've met people throughout the years who experience actual color blindness. My first discovery was during lunch when a colleague asked me the color of a banana he wanted to purchase from the cafeteria. He wanted to make sure that it was more yellow than green. I immediately assumed that he was kidding until he told me that he was color-blind. I still thought that he was joking so he shared how his wife must coordinate his wardrobe to ensure that everything matched, just so he could get to work in the morning. At that point, I was convinced. Thankfully, we had a trusting relationship, so no damage was done as I expressed my disbelief. The fact that I didn't ...