Colorblindness Is The New Racism

 

    Armstrong and Wildman argue that colorblindness cause society to ignore the cycle of privilege and discrimination thus repeating the same cycle. They discuss how it has become more popular amongst white people to take the stance of "how can I be racist when I don't see people's races?" However that is exactly the problem.

    My first talking point is diving into the problems with colorblindness. I admit that as a white person going into my undergraduate degree I did not understand the need to constantly learn about racism. I have even stated that I did not see or define people by their race. Which to an extent is still true today because I do not define others by their race but boy do I notice now (I will touch more on this later). I did not understand that there was anything wrong with this at the time. The reading states "whites tend not to notice their own race carries social meaning and generally positive presumptions." I find this statement to be overwhelming true because my skin tone comes with the privilege of not having to think of how I am defined by my race which means that I also tend to not think about others. The reason this is a problem is because when we do not see race we do not see the oppression and discrimination that is linked to race. For example, I teach at an elementary school and we are currently having a lice outbreak. Upon first thought you may think "oh that's common for elementary schools everywhere" but what if I told you that it has been a problem for over a month and it has spread to all grade levels. What if I also told you that it has gotten so bad that lice bugs can be found crawling in classrooms. This is clearly and terrible situation and I'm sure you have a lot of questions but would you think to ask what my population of students is like? The majority of my students are black and only just under 10% identify as white. I want you to think to yourself would this lice epidemic get to this severe of a place in a predominantly white school? Probably not. If we chose to not ask questions about the demographics of my students then you would miss a huge part of how students of color are oppressed in a way you may never have thought of (because I certainly didn't until this year).

    My next point is how the preferred alternative is color insight which "requires observation and reflection" of race in the real world. I really admired the assignment suggestion of having students document the racial composition of their surroundings for 24 hours. I thought that this is a perfect way to get students thinking about how race causes different types of interactions in society and paying attention to race for one day makes you pay attention to privilege and discrimination. This is something that I would actually really like to try to see where it leads me. In my opinion, the idea of color insight in the reading as potential to turn into being color brave as discussed in the TED talk. In order to be color brave you must first have color insight, you must be able to see and acknowledge race and the role it plays in our society first. Then to be color brave you have to use that knowledge to talk about it, do not shy away from mentioning race. Being color brave is to take action against the privilege and discrimination by using your color insight.

    My final point is to discuss why I believe many white people choose to remain in a state of colorblindness and that is discomfort. This is mainly mentioned in the TED Talk but for everyone (not just white people) race is an uncomfortable topic, not many people know how to react when race is brought up. I hate to admit that for me, this was the most relatable part of the entire assignment. I tend to avoid talking about race because it is uncomfortable and almost scary. I can even recall on several occasions being scared to refer to someone as black out of fear of offending someone, even though the description is not derogatory society makes it feel as though it is. I avoid mentioning race out of fear of sounding racist because I would never in any way want to come off as racist or accidentally offend someone but by avoiding talking about race I am avoiding fighting the systematic racism. I think as a society (most of us) are in a place where we do not view one race as being superior or inferior to another, however that does not mean the set up of our society has changed enough to actually defeat privilege and discrimination. This directly ties into the previous assignment about the four I's of oppression, specifically institution oppression. Our society functions off of institutional oppression which is why it is important to acknowledge race and see where our society is going wrong. 

    An example of how discomfort is the main challenge to beating colorblindness is coming up in my life soon. I am a white teacher in a primarily black school and black history month is coming up. I have spent over a month preparing for February knowing that this is important for my students and that is important that I teach this the right way. I have spent many hours picking musicians from all genres of black music anywhere from rap to jazz and also discussing how popular genres such as country began in black communities and were then taken over as white music. I made sure to create interactive lessons and thoroughly research all of the most influential musicians but the one thing I am stuck on is how to teach it. Not necessarily the content itself but more so the approach. Do I acknowledge that I'm white? Do I need to because the students can tell? Will they be uncomfortable learning it from a white teacher or feel resentment that it's coming from me?  If I acknowledge my role in contributing to oppression will they see me as a bad person? What is and isn't appropriate to talk about in terms of racism to elementary schoolers? I have so many fears and they all come from a really good place of wanting what is best for my kids. Obviously I am going to do my best and hopefully learn from any mistakes I make and be more prepared for the next year. Currently I am doing as much research as I can by reading many articles written by black teachers such as these tips and this article called "Dear White Teacher."

The Four I's of Opression

     In the video "The Four I's of Oppression," Luna Malbroux argues that it is not enough to treat everyone equally in order to fight oppression when we are born into a society that has four forms of oppression embedded into our every day life. The four I's are ideological, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized.

    The first talking point I would like to bring up is based on ideological oppression. Malbroux points to how from the womb parents are already making decisions for their child based on the ideologies of the child's gender, such as what color their room will be, pink or blue. I have seen gender ideologies affect many people in my life including myself. Just recently I was talking to my grandfather about what my plans were after college, and he suggested that my teaching career would not last long because once I have children I will have to become a stay at home mom. This shocked me because it is not as common to hear someone say that to a young woman as it would have been say 50 years ago. On the flip side, I have witnessed my boyfriend struggle to express his emotions and cry because he was raised on the ideology that boys do not cry. If it is not obvious, most of ideological oppression stems from stereotypes. 

    The next point I would like to make is that ideological oppression can lead to internalized oppression. Many people may not even realize they have internalized oppression until it is pointed out because stereotypes can be so commonly stated that they become a part of who we are without thinking about it. A very sad example of this is that on the first day of my first teaching job I introduced myself to a third grade class and asked them if they had any questions for me. A girl raised her hand and says "how come your hair is so pretty and mines not? And how come you're so pretty and I'm not?" Before I could even respond another student jumped in and very loudly said "because you're black and she's white." The student who made this statement was also a black female. I was in complete disbelief and shock especially when the student who asked the original question agreed with the second girl. Needless to say my undergraduate training did not prepare me for that moment. It is sad to think that the ideology of the white beauty standard has created internalized oppression in such young girls. 

    My final point is one that was the most striking to me. When I first watched the video I struggled with coming up with examples of institutional oppression (which in itself points to my privilege). However, the second time I watched the video the example of movies stuck out to me and I instantly realized that this is how I am accidentally contributing to oppression. As a white female, I am not sure that I have ever chosen to watch an all black film, which I am ashamed to admit. I have sought out movies where there are leads in multiple races (even though this does not happen often) but I have not done the same for an all black film. To be honest, my thought process is normally that there aren't enough actors/actresses I know to convince me to see the movie but that is a problem of oppression in itself. Because the institution sets up more white actors and actresses for fame, less actors of color are widely known. But as someone who also has a psych degree, I couldn't help but wonder if there was another reason that white people do not see all black films as often. My first thought was that white people do not see themselves in films with all black stars so it does not appeal to them as much but if that were true the same would be true for a black audience who chooses not to watch an all white film, which to my knowledge has never significantly occurred. However upon my research, I stumbled on an article in the Washington Post by Justin Moyer. Moyer states "white audience will perceive the films as 'not for them,' but White audiences perceive romantic films with minorities as 'not for them' because they seldom see minorities in race-neutral roles." This immediately made me think of how years ago I would have never been interested in watching a romance movie with an LGBTQ couple because as a straight woman I didn't feel like I could relate to it. However, as I went into high school and college and the film and tv representation of LGBTQ characters and couples increased I gained more interesting in watching movies that featured such couples. Exposure is what drew me to the movie not whether or not I saw myself in the roles, because my sexuality has not changed, only my exposure level. 

    I would like to connect this to last weeks reading by Alan Johnson. Johnson draws to the fact that we are all a part of the problem and this video has just proven to me that even I am part of the problem. As much as I would like to deny it, and as much as I do everything I can to fight being part of the problem the way our society is built has created oppression that I unknowingly contribute to. However, this is why it is so important to continuously explore this topic. The more you learn about oppression and privilege the more you learn about yourself and the more you learn to identify where you contribute to the problem. Even something as simple as pointing out movie culture can create a change in someone.

"Can't we all just get along?"

     The author Alan Johnson argues that everyone is a part of the problem that creates privilege and oppression. It is not who we are but rather what we have inherited from society that causes us to be part of the problem. Furthermore, if you chose to ignore what we have inherited from society then it does become a problem of who we are. "If we dispense with the words we make it impossible to talk about what's really going on and what it has to do with us" (Johnson, Chapter 1). Ignoring the problem because it makes us uncomfortable and because we did not directly cause the problem, turns us into more of a problem.

    One of my biggest takeaways from this reading was the idea that society does not have to be this way and it is not in our nature. Now this may seem like the most basic takeaway one can have but in all honesty I would be lying if I said that I have never thought that society has these flaws because there has to be a natural order of ranking for a lack of better terms. Similar to how there is a food chain for animals, I have always assumed that maybe that is the problem, that even though as humans we have evolved we are animals by nature. Maybe, to our fault, we have this born perception of order in our species. To clarify, this does not mean I have ever used this logic to justify any actions that have caused privilege or oppression but I rather sought out this thought as a possible reason for why. Johnson states "as popular and powerful as such arguments are, the only way to hold on to them is to ignore most of what history, psychology, anthropology, sociology, biology, and, if people look closely, their own experience reveal about human beings and how they live. We are not prisoners to some natural order that pits us hopelessly and endlessly against one another." This was thought provoking for me because it made me realize that this logic does go against specifically my own experience as I do not view the world as having a natural hierarchy of people and I have always seen that as flawed so clearly it is not human nature. 

    

    Another point that was eye opening was the diversity wheel and how the unique makeup of characteristics from this wheel can determine how privileged and oppressed you are but yet it does not show the uniques that makes you up as a person. I am a 22 year old white straight woman, I come from English, Norwegian, Italian, and Irish heritage, and I am very able at this time. I am college educated, working towards achieving my masters, I am not married, I am democratic, not religious, and I am a teacher. What does that tell you about me? To me it says that I am privileged more than I am oppressed. I come from a middle class family so I never had to worry about housing or food insecurities. I am white so every time I have been pulled over for speeding (three times unfortunately) I have gotten off on a warning most likely in part due to my race. I was given the privilege of having access to a high school that offered many AP classes which in turn gave me the privilege of attending college. I am privileged to not live in fear of holding hands with my boyfriend in public. But yet I also experience oppression in some ways. I worry about every interaction with a man. If I am too nice I am leading him on but if I shut him down immediately out of fear for my safety I am a bitch. I have been groped without ever approaching a man. Even as a musician, assumptions are made about what I am capable of musically because of my gender. I can't be a composer because I am a woman, I have the same degree as some of my male alumni yet they are probably band directors while I am most likely seen to teach children's music. And don't get me started on how brass instruments are for men. The point is that each persons individual diversity wheel kind of determines what cards you are dealt in life and how privileged and oppressed you are.

    My final takeaway is that while I have always recognized that I experience more privilege than oppression, I am not lucky to be privileged. Obviously I do not wish to be more oppressed but I wish to exist in a word where my privilege does not thrive off of someone else's oppression. However, as Johnson points out, one cannot exist without the other so in order to get rid of oppression we must eliminate privilege. Which means when I get pulled over for speeding I should only be let off with a warning based on my driving record and not on my skin color and the same would have to go for any person of color. The point is, this reading has made me realize I do not want any part in benefitting from the oppression of others and the first step is recognizing the privilege we receive. 

    At this point I would like to make a connection to my current teaching position as we have not read any other articles thus far into the semester. I teach in Providence where the minority of my students are white but the majority of the teachers are white. What does this tell you about privilege and oppression? To me it says that not enough inner city students, whether that means students of lower economic status, black students, or ethnically diverse students, have access to higher education in order to become teachers. And even though all of the teachers at my school love the students as if they are their own children, what kind of message does it send to the students when they cannot see themselves in their education? It subconsciously, and maybe even sometimes consciously, tells students that they cannot achieve what we have achieved and ends up contributing to repeating the cycle. Like Johnson points out it is not our fault for being white and having this effect but it is our job to do everything we can to change this for the future. This does not just stand true for my school, this is accurate on a national level. I would like to cite data from an article by Katherine Schaeffer that states "In schools where students come from households with lower incomes, greater shares of teachers are Black or Hispanic than at schools where students are wealthier. One measure of this is the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a proxy measure for students in lower-income households. In schools where more than 75% of students qualify for the program, 17% of teachers are Hispanic, 14% are Black and 63% are White. At schools where 25% or fewer students qualify, 4% of teachers are Hispanic, 2% are Black and nine-in-ten are White." This is something that I try to be mindful of every day when I teach and I am always trying to put my best foot forward in order to make a change in the future. But like Johnson said, we are all a part of the problem, therefore we must all be a part of the change.

An Introduction to Me

     

My name is Hannah Simonds and before I was a teacher I was a musician. This picture is from my senior recital last year playing the euphonium. Playing this instrument is probably the most unique thing about me. It may look like a small tuba but it sounds like a combination of a trombone and a french horn.

Music is what led me to want to become a teacher. I am currently an elementary music teacher in Providence at Harry Kizirian Elementary. This is my first year teaching! I teach grades PreK-5 and have about 500 students!

This is my dog Herbie he is quite literally larger than me at 175 pounds and over six feet tall on his hind legs. He may look intimidating but he would never hurt a fly and thinks he is a lap dog.

This is my bunny Bella and she is very much a princess. She is ten years old now so she is a little old lady. I have another bunny named Peanut as well but they don't get along so I don't have any pictures of them together.

I chose this picture because the biggest part of me is that I am a kid at heart. I have a love for Disney because of the nostalgia it provides me. A big part of my love for music came from growing up watching Disney movies so I'm not sure I would be who I am today without Disney.