Colorblind language

One common problem with discussions of multiculturalism is the inclination for whites to use colorblind rhetoric. Particularly in efforts to not seem racist, whites will make comments like "I don't see him as black," or "I don't look at you as Hispanic-we're all just people." Other forms of this colorblind language can appear, such as "I never saw you like that" or "everyone is equal, it doesn't matter what skin color you are." These comments are not meant to be racist, and usually are said in efforts to impart respect. However, they backfire immensely. In fact, Houston, in her 2004 essay, "When Black Women Talk with White Women: Why the Dialogues are Difficult," examines the rhetoric of "I never even notice...We're all the same, really-just people" (p. 123). She writes that statements like these "suggest that the speaker regards blackness as something negative, a problem that one "can't help" and, therefore as something that one's white friends should "overlook" (p. 123). Similarly, Houston's research argues that when a white woman says, "We're all the same," what she really means is "I can see how you (a black woman) are like me(a white woman)." Thus, when a white person says "we're all people," what is really being said is "we're all white people," and thus denies the experience of other racial and ethnic groups, and redefines it in the terms of a white person. Thus, it is imperative that we learn to discuss race and ethnicity in our conversations, and not ignore them by using colorblind language. This is an integral step towards having less eurocentric perspectives in the classroom.

The information in this post was found in: Marsha Houston's 2004 article "When Black Women Talk With White Women: Why the Dialogues are Difficult, in the book "Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and Communication" pp. 119-125.