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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhite Millenials are products of a failed lesson in colorblindness
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/white-millennials-products-failed-lesson-colorblindnessWhat Id like to believe from my observations in the streets of Ferguson and New York City at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests is that, among young white people, there is a real awakening around issues of racial justice. Indeed, the number of white people who have shown up, marched, carried signs, and chanted along with calls for an end to institutionalized racism often surprised me. At a time when optimism was difficult to come by, their presence carried the potential of inspiring hope of a coming revolution. But as a frequent participant and observer of conversations that deal with the quest for racial justice, I know better than to place too much hope in these optics.
For one, movements toward racial justice have always attracted a sliver of the young white population with a disposition geared toward radical politics. They are not necessarily representative of their entire generation. Furthermore, with respect to this particular generation, the Millennials, the education these young white people have received have left them ill-equipped to understand the nature of racism and subsequently supplied them analysis that wont address the problem. As children of the multi-cultural 1980s and 90s, Millennials are fluent in colorblindness and diversity, while remaining illiterate in the language of anti-racism. This may not be the end of the world, if werent for the fact that Millennials dont know the difference between the two.
To be fair, thats not entirely their fault. They were taught by their elders, Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, about how to think about race and racism. The lessons Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers gleaned from the Civil Rights era is that racism is matter of personal bigotry racists hate people because of the color of their skin, or because they believe stereotypes about groups of people theyve never met not one of institutional discrimination and exploitation. The history Millennials have been taught is through that lens, with a specific focus on misunderstanding the message of Martin Luther King, Jr. Certainly, a world where we all loved one another would be ideal, where each person is seen as equal, where the dream of children of all different racial backgrounds holding hands with one another without prejudice is a reality. But Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers generally decided to ignore Kings diagnosis of the problem white supremacy and opted to make him a poster-child for a colorblind society, in which we simply ignore construct of race altogether and pray that it will disappear on its own.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)on issues like LGBT marriage equality.
The Sandpiper Village, 5 pm dinnertime crowd should stop to consider that, while exercising their "get off my lawn" muscles.
Erich Bloodaxe BSN
(14,733 posts)I think it's a 'Well, even by the millennial generation, we still haven't been teaching the right lessons about racism, as opposed to bigotry'. And we certainly see that on DU, such as was evidenced continuously by a recently-banned millennial who kept proclaiming himself the fount of wisdom on what is and is not racism, sexism, etc, while at the same time demonstrating he really was clueless.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)That said I tend to think that the demographics of this place lead to some exceedingly silly sorts of generation-bashing arguments put forth, as well as a lot of head-scratching when it comes to contemporary culture.
On the bright side, this is one of the few places left on the intertubes where a Gen X gray-hair such as myself can still be lectured at like a young whippersnapper. Makes me nostalgic, it does.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)You'll see it says that the problem is that we taught them this. We have passed it on. It's not something they started.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Seeing as unlike boomers, they seem to have figured out widespread acceptance of LGBT equality.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)This article is specifically about race, not other kinds of bigotry.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Like I said. Everyone certainly has room for improvement. Hopefully Gen Z will do better.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)gollygee
(22,336 posts)In fact, it's the first and second sentences of then article, quoted in the OP.
What Id like to believe from my observations in the streets of Ferguson and New York City at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests is that, among young white people, there is a real awakening around issues of racial justice. Indeed, the number of white people who have shown up, marched, carried signs, and chanted along with calls for an end to institutionalized racism often surprised me.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)"Colorblindness" on its own will not fix institutional racism. But colorblindness makes it easier to do so. The reasons behind the institutional racism (widespread personal bigotry) go away, making it much more difficult to maintain the institution.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)Here's an article from the SPLC, that explains better than I ever could, the problem with "colorblindness."
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-36-fall-2009/feature/colorblindness-new-racism
Trainers and facilitators say colorblindness does just the opposite: folks who enjoy racial privilege are closing their eyes to the experiences of others.
It benefits me not to pay attention, says Benn, who is white. I never have to question whether or not my race is being held in question when I apply for a job. It benefits me not to question that (because) it makes it look like I got here on my own.
(snip)
Such tunnel vision is the reason a teacher can omit Africa from a timeline of world civilizations, Ross says. Still, she cautions, the flaws of the colorblind approach run deeper than curriculum.
Failure to see and acknowledge racial differences makes it difficult to recognize the unconscious biases everyone has. Those biases can taint a teachers expectations of a students ability and negatively influence a students performance. Study after study has shown that low teacher expectations are harmful to students from socially stigmatized groups.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)who will fight to maintain it.
That makes it easier for the "fixers", even though it does not directly create more "fixers".
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It is the status quo. Doing nothing = maintaining it. We have to see it in order to dismantle it. We can't fight what we don't see.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)As I said above, colorblindness won't fix the problem on its own, just make it easier for the people who are trying to fight it.
Which would you rather fight: Someone who thinks racism is dumb but didn't realize they were reinforcing institutional racism, or someone who shouts "white power" and is actively working to build more institutional racism?
The former needs to broaden their view, and then they will naturally become an ally.
The latter needs to be eliminated. Either via time or via loss of political power.
It's a lot easier to make that new ally than it is to overcome that outright racist.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)They seem to usually be very defensive about their position and resist any suggestion that there's more to learn. I think they're both effectively doing the same thing - keeping racism going, and "colorblind" people are more likely to draw followers and get into higher positions of power, thereby having more power to keep structural racism in place.
It is different, but I don't see it as a step toward the end of racism. It seems to be more of an entrenching of racism, and a way of making racism more palatable.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)There's always going to be excuses to avoid changing. And you're going to get some "colorblind" people who behave like Colbert mocked - they will insist they are not racist while being racist.
But you were lamenting the people who actually are "colorblind" in that they just don't think race matters. That hurts progress because they will not help fix structural issues built around racism. (At least, that's what it looks like you're saying. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
And I agree that they will not help to "move the needle" on their own. But I don't think they'll push back nearly as hard as someone who is (closeted or not) actually racist.
You have to convince a racist that (despised group) are people too, or you have to wait for them to die.
You have to convince that "truly colorblind" person that their view of reality is off. To do that, you only have to overcome their reluctance to appear misinformed or foolish.
(It really doesn't help when discussing this that there's a continuum between people who are really color blind and those who are "color blind" only because overt racism is no longer socially acceptable. Makes it very easy to talk past each other.)
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It's a myth, and a myth that's been disproven
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/millenials-race-115909.html#.VRr2bBj3arU
And it's a myth that allows the current racial inequities to continue. It keeps people from looking at society critically, and from self-reflection on the issue of race.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)The article spends most of it's time arguing that Millennials aren't a radical shift, but instead the continuation of a gradual change.
Then it jumps to what I called Colbert-style "colorblind" in SCOTUS decisions. And then goes on to talk about the statistics among Millennials without bringing in the context of older generations.
You seem to think I'm saying "the job is done" and resistance is gone. That isn't what I'm saying at all. I'm saying resistance is less entrenched. That resistance still exists, and "Oh, I never thought of it like that" is going to be a common refrain.
There's a long battle ahead, but the walls have been worn down a little. The people on top of the walls won't be dropping any ropes, but they won't be using boiling oil either.
Xithras
(16,191 posts)The thing is, it eventually will. Millennials, Boomers, and X'ers who genuinely embrace the concept of a colorblind society aren't contributing to the problem of white supremacy. While you could make the argument that they aren't activists fighting against it, they also happen to be the group least likely to actively discriminate against someone of another race. The problem, genuinely, sprouts from old people who refuse to let go of their biases.
The good news is that those people will eventually die off, and the world will be a better place without them. We could, theoretically, help that solution along, but most sane people have moral and ethical objections to that sort of thing
The social constructs of race must be destroyed. The artificial walls that separate us will always be leveraged by those looking for power. We can only remove that leverage by destroying those walls. In the short term, colorblindness does indeed cause some problems for the people working to end racial discrimination. In the long term, it's the only solution that actually fixes the problem of discrimination permanently. The solution, therefore, isn't to get rid of colorblindness, but to make sure that it's not the only answer on the table.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It doesn't appear to be dying off. And white millenials don't actually appear to be any more evolved than Gen Xers.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/03/millenials-race-115909.html
Colorblindness might be an effect of ending racism, but it is not and won't be a cause. We have to see it to fight it. We can't ignore it.
WestCoastLib
(442 posts)As a black man that works and have worked among White Millennials for a decade, what the younger generations have been taught clearly has not been a "failed lesson" in any sense.
Has it "solved" the problem of institutionalized racism? No. Nor could it be expected to.
But I get sick of all these "throw the baby out with the bathwater" reactions that are so frequent with nearly all measures that are meant to take steps in positive directions (for any cause).
If you want something like this completely solved overnight, or even completely solved in your lifetime, I'm afraid you are only going to be disappointed in any and all methods taken to address the issue.