What to know

Racial colorblindness is a point of view that negates the historical, social, and cultural context and impact of systemic racism in the United States. It can happen at both the individual level and the policy level and does not consider people’s lived experiences. Industrial-organizational psychologist Kecia M. Thomas offers two examples of phrasing: “I don’t see color” and “We’re all one race, the human race.” The concept “allows us to pretend that if we do not see race, then we cannot act based upon race.” Explaining the term and the myths around it can be helpful for clarity.

Additional resources

• “Color Blindness Is Counterproductive” (The Atlantic)
• “Racial Colorblindness” (Fitchburg State University)
• “Racial Color Blindness: Emergence, Practice, and Implications” (Current Directions in Psychological Science)
• “White parents teach their children to be colorblind. Here’s why that’s bad for everyone.” (Washington Post)

Summary

Racial colorblindness is the idea that discrimination can be combated by treating everyone as equally as possible without acknowledging race or ethnicity and the systemic inequalities that stem from them. Explaining the term and the myths around it can be helpful for clarity.

Related terms

• “post-racial”
• race/racial groups