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The Ideology of
Colorblindness
and
White Supremacy
Guinier, L. & Torres, G.
Martinez, E.
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Before we start
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The Ideology of Colorblindness
Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres
(2012)
Three main features of colorblindness
-Race is all about skin color.
- Noticing race itself can be racism.
- Racism is a problem of individuals, not society.

Can you see any danger or possible problems in viewing racial
issues from this perspective?
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As a practical matter, it is impossible to be
colorblind in a world as color-conscious as
ours. (2012, p. 103)
Critiques of colorblindness
- ignores the association between race and
political and economic power.
- normalizes existing racial hierarchies and
power dynamics.
- masks entrenched racial inequality.

Response to Colorblindness
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$33,916
$54,920
$0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000
Median Income
White Black
Inequality between Blacks and Whites
Median Household Income (2007)
Homeownership Rates (2003)
49.1
72.8
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Homeownership
White Black
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8.7
7.8
4.4
6.7
7
70
60.3
83
68.6
81
0 20 40 60 80 100
BA
MA
Law
MD
PhD
White Black
Inequality between Blacks and Whites
Degrees Conferred (2003)
What are the reasons for this educational disparity between the two groups?
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3.9
4.4
5.3
0.8
89.2
73.5
87.5
98
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Lawyers
Physicians & Surgeons
Newsrooms
Fortune 500 CEOs
White Black
Inequality between Blacks and Whites
Occupations
Lawyers, Physicians and Surgeons (2000), Newsrooms (2004), Fortune 500 CEOs (2005)
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Colorblindness Conclusions
Race in this society tracks wealth, wealth tracks education, and
education tracks access to power.(2012, p.105)
These existing economic systems create substantial barriers to
black achievement, social mobility, and
accumulation and transmission of wealth.
Race should be defined within the economic or
political system.


If you cant see it,
you cant fix it!
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Discussion
Lets watch this video.
White Like Me http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/10356
What do you think about the white privilege depicted in this
video? Can you say the US is now color-blind?
From the colorblindness perspective, policies like Affirmative
Action can be considered as reverse racism. Do you agree with
that?
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What is White Supremacy?
Elizabeth Martinez
(1998)
White Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally
perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of
continents, nations, and peoples of color by white
peoples and nations of the European continent, for the
purpose of maintaining and defending a system of
wealth, power, and privilege (Martinez, 1998).

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White Supremacy as a System
Racism
-People individualizing racist acts
-White Supremacy as a more useful term
White Supremacy as a historically based system of exploitation
Origin myth
-Military conquests
-Economic development through enslaved African Labor
-Mexico

What is White Supremacy?
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Origins of Whiteness and White Supremacy
Whiteness
- Divide and control
White Supremacy
- Manifest Destiny

What is White Supremacy?
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Take a look at this
Original version of Microsoft photo Doctored version for Polish users
Can you find the difference between the two pictures?
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And this
Got Milk? ad campaign featuring US Olympic athletes (2008)

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Lets look closely
Whose fingers are they?
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One more
So wait, does this mean that zebras are only half normal?
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Discussion
Should these images be viewed as a mere mistake, or are they examples
of White Supremacy?
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Discussion
ABC News: Children & The Psychology of White Supremacy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTYn1WRCuoU
What do you think affected these young childrens bias towards the
peoples skin color?
Can we call these children racist?