COMMENTARY - Why ‘color-blindness’ is dangerous

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate but equal” schools and other public accommodations for Black and white people were  constitutional. The Plessy decision is also the first time the phrase “color-blind” was used in American political discourse by Justice Harlan in his dissent of the Plessy decision. Harlan writes, “The white race deems itself to be the dominant race in this country…But in the view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. … Our Constitution is color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.”...

...The only way to honestly deal with the issue of race in America is to take a cue from Sen.Mitch McConnell when he responded to Sen.Chuck Schumer’s speech on antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Senator McConnell said, “It was extraordinary. I want to compliment him on providing a history lesson for Americans about the history of the Jewish people and putting it in context with the conflict that’s underway.” Why can’t white Americans collectively muster the same enthusiasm to learn about the racial history of this nation and to understand our current context better as it relates to race in America?...