By Adriel Luis at Change.org
When I was in fifth grade, my very liberal teacher decided to familiarize our class with the concept of race. Since teaching a roomful of 12-year-olds about things like the cycle of oppression can be somewhat complicated, he turned to some abstract metaphors to help him out.
“A melting pot is the belief that all of the cultures represented in America are fused together to form our singular culture,” he explained. “A salad bowl is the belief that different cultures are mixed together, but are still individually distinguishable.” While both of these examples made me hungry, the following one he invoked made me feel just nauseated.
“A colorblind society,” he continued, “is the belief that we are all equal, and our differences should be overlooked.”
At that moment, had I known just how often I’d come across proponents of this color-blindedness, I would’ve stuck my ears in the pencil sharpener.
Why do I shudder at terms like “colorblind” and “melting pot”?
Read the full story at Change.org