You’ve probably heard someone say, “I don’t see color,” when it comes to race, or maybe, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body.” While on the surface, these statements may seem like a step towards racial equality, this mindset is actually quite harmful and even counterproductive. When someone fails to “see color,” they fail to see descrimination and segregation. People may think that not seeing race means everyone is equal in their mind, but it turns a blind eye to real issues in the world that are oftentimes failed to be addressed.

Many people get confused when it comes to taking race into account and being completely “colorblind.” Going into situations not taking race into account may be beneficial when it comes to hiring an employee, or finding a future partner, but not in bigger situations involving more people. When there are many people involved, patterns start to appear, and someone who “doesn’t see race” is unable to see these patterns. For example, if a poor neighborhood’s population consists of mostly minorities, a person who is “colorblind” is unable to see this pattern, and thus the problem. We cannot solve social inequalities if people do not see a problem to be solved. This is the exact reason we have an argument over Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter: many people do not believe that black people are oppressed, so when the Black Lives Matter movement began, people rallied against it. All Lives Matter oppresses and silences black people by trying to include all races in the movement, when in reality, not all races are suppressed, so they do not to be included. The Black Lives Matter movement was made to combat racism, and since white people cannot face racism, there is no need for a movement to include them. However, someone who is colorblind would not notice the inequality and brutality that black people (specifically) face. 

When others state that they do not have a racist bone in their body or, argue that they “are not racist,” they are simply removing themselves from the problem without taking further action. Yes, it is better to be not racist than racist, but being not racist could simply mean that someone is a bystander in this ever growing issue. Saying you are not part of the problem does nothing. In order to fully combat racial inequality, we must be vocal and get involved with real problems that need to be solved. Acknowledging our wrongdoings is very important, and saying someone cannot be racist implies that they are perfect and do not need to change, when in reality, there is always something that people could learn and improve upon. 

So how do we combat this issue? The first step is acknowledgement. Know when you have privilege, where there is a problem, and where you stand in this issue. A white person has more privilege than a black person, and recognizing this allows us to move forward and get over petty conflicts such as Black Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter. The next step is starting conversations. Understand your privilege. Black parents have been talking to their children about racism and police brutality for years: after an innocent black man gets shot on the street because they looked “suspicious,” black parents are forced to explain to their children that they will meet people who dislike them because of the color of their skin. On the other hand, white parents often feel the need to shield their children from social inequalities to “protect them from the real world.” In other words, these parents don’t want to burden their children with racial inequality. They are refusing to take note of what is happening, so when their children grow up, they grow up colorblind. The final step is taking what you know about your privilege and applying it. For example, in recent Black Lives Matter protests, the white protesters often stood in front of the black protesters when the police approached, because they knew that the police would not be as harsh on the white people than the black people. 

To not have to think about race is a privilege. If you know you have privilege, instead of being ignorant, use it for good by educating and protecting others. It is not enough to say that we are not racist; instead, we must be anti-racist and fight for justice and take responsibility for our actions. While the end goal is to see everyone as equal, we cannot do this until we simultaneously agree that certain people are oppressed and choose to face the issue together. And maybe one day we will be able to simply see people as people and be colorblind, but until all races are equal, we must take race into account.