Is the Emphasis on a Color Blind Society an Answer to Racism? Is there really a solution to racism? Racism comes into play in so many ways that it would be virtually impossible to completely wipe racism off the face of the earth. The world is a very, very diverse place, and within the world, there are diverse places. There isn’t one concentration of people anywhere on the planet. There are different people all around the world, and therefore, there will be differences among a group of people in a society.
The biggest form of racism or discrimination is based on the color of one’s skin. Other forms or racial inequality, prejudice, and discrimination are religious backgrounds and beliefs, race, ethnicity, and to break it down even more, in some societies, you have to look a certain way, and if you don’t you’re rejected. Two men, Ward Connerly from “Don’t Box Me In,” National Review and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva from Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, have very different and opposing views on the emphasis of a color blind society. Connerly believes that in for a society to be racially free, the government and private citizens must stop assigning people to categories delineated by race. Bonilla- Silva, on the other hand believes that the color-blind ideology is a cover for the racism and inequality that persist within contemporary American society; basically, there will always be a degree of racism.
Racism has been evident since the birth of America and its 13 colonies. The bondage of African Americans as slaves during the birth of America, which officially ended with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment added to the Constitution, has caused much of America today to define and perceive African Americans as inferior and race in bondage, and there inferior to the whites, who are viewed as the far superior race. Although the 13th Amendment; which banned slavery, and the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, there was still traces of slavery looming the lands of the South. The South would have to completely rebuild and rethink their structure after the Civil War and during Reconstruction, because the heavy agricultural South relied heavily on slaves, but the dominance of one person over another person is merely uncivilized, and not the way humans are to treat each other. Today, slavery is pretty much nonexistent. Congratulations to America for patting down and ending slavery, but did end racial discrimination? The answer is no, and there are still widespread racial discrimination based on skin color. Skin color has the made difference in job interviews, voting rights, salary, and more. Some people today still look at African Americans with disdain, as the inferior race, especially in the states that originated and used slavery heavily. Baby boomers have lived through the vast change in America, and the stubborn ones who cannot accept the revived society, still believe that African American have been, are, and will always be inferior to the white race. Of course, this has been proven wrong time and again in different areas, including the current president of the United States, Barack Obama, members of Congress, executives of businesses, CEOs of companies, and athletes excelling in their respective sports. This will continue to happen, regardless of what some baby boomers and others who are prejudice towards African Americans.
Ward Connerly wants racial prejudices to be erased from American societies across the nation. For this to come to pass, the government and private citizens have to really make a conscious effort to and must stop assigning people to categories delineated by race. Until this happens, there was will always be racial prejudice and discrimination. Race must be set more than set aside, it must be completely eliminated, and give everyone the same exact opportunity, looking at everyone the same, and judging them on what they