Rethinking Colorblindness:The Issue with All Lives Matter

The two texts that I will be discussing in this blog post are “The next time someone says 'all lives matter,' show them these 5 paragraphs” by Kevin Roose and “Deconstructing Privilege” by Margalynne J. Armstrong and Stephanie M. Wildman. In, “Deconstructing Privilege” Armstrong and Wildman argue that we are so afraid to acknowledge racism in today’s society, that we become colorblind or try to decompress the issue by creating an all-in movement like “All Lives Matter.”

“The real issue is that, while strictly true, "All Lives Matter" is a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the real problems black people in America face.” (Roose, 2019, p.1). This quote is very important because it shows that using the word “all” instead of “black” is extremely harmful and even a microaggression within itself because it is erasing the importance of the message and invalidating a whole group of individuals. Of course all lives matter, but that is not the point of the movement. With June being LGBTQIA+ Pride month, I can relate this to people asking when “straight pride” is. However, the issue at hand is that these movements are specific to the minority group, and the majority group attempting to make the same arguments and same movements negate what the minority groups are working towards altogether.

1. “A key aspect of this unacknowledged privilege to avoid thinking of oneself as having a race is that whiteness operates as the normative foundation and reference for most discussions about race, race discrimination, and the denial of equality” (Armstrong & Wildman, 2013, p. 68). This is an important point that the authors make because, as we discusses in class, realizing the privilige that you have is the first step is acknowledging the privilege that you do have. Last Thursday, I attended a Social Justice conference at the University of Rhode Island, while there a huge part was about checking our privilege and using the power we do have in our intersecting identities as a force of good versus evil, to create a more equitable world.
2. “Color insight provides a vocabulary for teaching across racial lines. It is a useful lens with which to examine societal interactions and to initiate conversations. Color insight contrasts with colorblindness by offering an alternative that better serves the purported goals of colorblindness: racial equity and justice. Color insight requires its practitioners to observe, discuss, and analyze the operation of race and privilege in contemporary society.” (Armstrong & Wildman, 2013, p. 68) Color insight poses as a smart alternative to colorblindness, and the authors argue that we can help correct colorblindness by becoming more aware of peoples races and different backgrounds.

This video by Lillian Medville titled, Your Privilege Is Showing perfectly summarizes my thoughts and feelings about having these discussions, because I, too, am trying my hardest to get it right, but need to be less afraid to ask questions. She also treated a social-justice heavy diversity training game called “Your Privilege is Showing” which can be found here. Maria’s blog perfectly sums up this week's articles by saying, “Use of the word “race” has evolved and will continue to change as time goes on, but the world is far from finding a solution. Until white privilege, or just privilege in general, is recognized for what it is, acknowledged as such, and acted upon, society will continue to be at a stalemate.”