Colorblindness

Bonilla-Silva's article on colorblindness and racism is one that I've read before, but it always has a pretty profound impact on me. Growing up in the deep south, Baton Rouge, I was raised to be hyper-aware of race and racial issues but they were never discussed openly. There were good intentions behind not talking about it, as if to not call attention to racial problems, but it didn't change the fact that the education system in Louisiana is organized in a way that keeps many aspects of segregation. By not talking about about how students were disadvantaged and stereotypes perpetuated, the situation only got worse, and to my knowledge, public education in Louisiana hasn't gotten any better yet. Just like Bonilla-Silva mentioned in her article, the problems only become worse when we ignore them and pretend they aren't there. How does it help disadvantaged young people when we pretend like their education is equal to everyone else's? This also raises another problem that a speaker who came to UIC last semester, Pedro Noguera, discussed in accordance with colorblind racism: private racism. During the time of the Civil Rights Movement, racial issues were being discussed openly, and it was easy to identify opinions people had about the civil rights movement because everyone was out in the open about: Pro-segregation activists were vocal about their stance, as were pro-civil rights activists. Because nobody's talking about racial issues nowadays or 'fessing up to their prejudices in today's society, we don't know who the racists are. Private racism exists now because of colorblindness and ignoring issues without talking about them.