Colorblind by Tim Wise

The next Popsugar bonus challenge I chose to complete was the "book about a difficult topic" prompt. Finding the right novel for this one was easy, because I still had two books I purchased at the Tim Wise speaking engagement I attended last year sitting on my shelf. Wise is a writer and educator on racial justice, a topic which never fails to stir up controversy. While he has explored several aspects of racism in his works, Colorblind focuses on the concept of colorblindness in politics. Wise's opinion is that politicians who embrace colorblind policies in their work are actually helping to perpetuate racial injustice in America. Based on the amount of people I know personally that get upset when anything relating to race is discussed at school, I knew that this was the perfect text for the "difficult topic" prompt.

Colorblind begins with a preface that explains what Wise calls post-racial liberalism, a form of politics that combines race-neutral rhetoric and colorblind public policies. Politicians who embrace post-racial liberalism will favor laws and programs designed to help all people instead of laws and programs aimed at helping members of a specific race. They will say that they "do not see color" and claim to regard all humans equally. He goes on to explain how Barak Obama rose to the presidency using these beliefs and sets up the rest of the novel as an explanation of how colorblind politics have affected different aspects of American's lives over time. He asserts that choosing to ignore race when designing laws to help the public actually perpetuates and worsens systemic racism because it allows people to ignore the unique needs and problems of different cultures.

The following chapters go on to discuss the evolution of colorblind policies over time, specific examples of their harmful effects in the areas of employment, housing, education, and healthcare, and suggestions for alternative policy approaches that would promote racial equality. Wise's writing is intelligent and well-reasoned. He provides ample support for his points and explains his arguments logically. That being said, Colorblind isn't light reading. I needed to concentrate and be in a quiet room while I read this to make sure that I understood all of Wise's complex ideas. It was a mental challenge to wrap my head around everything he was saying, and some of it, while interesting, was a bit dry and repetitive. However, once I got my head in the right place with the material, I learned a lot about how systemic racism operates in the U.S. It's heartbreakingly unfair.

Before reading this, for example, I had no idea that minorities were hit harder by the recent housing crisis than whites. They were routinely given the riskiest loans with the highest interest rates, even in cases where their financial backgrounds were the same as white loan applicants that got a better deal. I also had no idea that doctors are less likely to prescribe effective medications or recommend lifesaving surgeries to people of color, leading to worse health outcomes for these groups overall. I didn't know that the stress of dealing with discrimination all the time makes minorities physically ill due to stress hormones constantly being released. I didn't know that black men feel pressured to change their names so that a prospective employer can't tell that they are black from a job application. I hadn't heard that conservative commentators and leaders were saying that the Affordable Care Act was actually "reparations for slavery" in disguise to ruin white support for Obama's healthcare plan. People of color have to struggle against so much to attain the same benefits that whites can easily reach out and grasp. It's depressing. I agree with Wise that a post racial liberal philosophy won't be effective in eliminating these injustices. They will continue on unchecked if we ignore them in favor of promoting social programs for all people.  

After reading Colorblind, I am convinced that claiming to "not see color" is terribly misguided. I understand that people who say this are speaking from a good place, but pretending like race doesn't exist is an ineffective way to deal with the systemic racism that still plagues American institutions. I believe that politicians should tackle these problems head on, instead of relying on race-neutral tactics just to get elected. Race is certainly an uncomfortable topic, and white people have never been particularly good at discussing it. This must change if we are to move forward and achieve true equality between all racial groups. Tim Wise's novel is a valuable teaching tool to help educate people on why we must drop the whole idea of being "colorblind" and become conscious of what our fellow Americans from different backgrounds have to struggle against.

Challenge Tally 

Popsugar Bonus Challenge (a bestseller from 2016): 3/12

TBR Challenge: (previously owned) 40/60

Total Books Read in 2017: 52