{"id":70194,"date":"2022-10-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk\/?p=70194"},"modified":"2022-10-19T15:16:20","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T14:16:20","slug":"why-we-keep-hearing-i-dont-see-colour-and-why-its-not-helpful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk\/blog\/why-we-keep-hearing-i-dont-see-colour-and-why-its-not-helpful\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we keep hearing \u201cI don\u2019t see colour\u201d and why it\u2019s not helpful"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYou\u2019re not really black.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWould you be on the black or white side if there was a war?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you go to a white person\u2019s hairdresser or a black person\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you can swim?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could get away with saying you have a tan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you wear sunscreen, you don\u2019t need it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Surely these questions are exaggerated? Have stayed unsaid? I must have misunderstood! <\/p>\n

Sadly, I didn\u2019t understand at the time the intention behind the questions, but only felt all too deeply the impact. These are only some of the questions I have been asked, but I could probably write a ten-chapter book on the questions I have been asked throughout my lifetime.<\/p>\n

The questions as I get older are less direct and more subtle, sometimes even wearing the cloak of\u2019 \u2018banter\u2019 or seeping out as a microaggression<\/a> (but that\u2019s for another blog). The impact of being on the receiving end of a look, an assumption is still as strong, and devaluing as it ever was. As much as I would like to say the impact hasn\u2019t played a part in some of the choices I have made, that would be a lie.<\/p>\n

Only on rare occasions am I now catapulted back to the schoolyard playground where I was made to feel excluded, different and othered purely based on the colour of my skin. There were many times I wish my older self could have stood alongside with my younger self and given me the words to be proud of my mixed heritage and all that it brings, instead of being hurt and trying to hide it or laughing it off as if it didn\u2019t get to me. <\/p>\n

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Why saying \u201cI don\u2019t see colour\u201d is not helpful<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When well-intentioned people say \u201cOh I see you, I don\u2019t see colour\u201d as if to raise the flag for equality for being able to see everyone on the same level, I say \u201csee me!\u201d  <\/p>\n

Besides failing to see and acknowledge racism, \u201cI don\u2019t see colour\u201d fails to validate the anxiety and the experiences behind racism in our country, whether this is in our work life or social life. <\/p>\n

When the frequently uttered phrase of \u201cI\u2019m not a racist\u201d is used closely followed up by a list of black friends someone has, this allows for people to avoid participating in anti-racism. It is a failure to see and acknowledge that racism exists. It\u2019s a failure to see how your own thoughts, ideas, beliefs, choices you make could be racist.<\/p>\n

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Being anti-racist and taking action<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ibram X. Kendi who wrote \u201cHow to be an Antiracist\u201d<\/a> puts a firm spotlight on action: \u201cCommit to some form of action that has the potential to change racist policies\u201d. If a person does nothing in the face of racial inequities that are pervasive, if they don\u2019t challenge them, what are they doing?<\/p>\n

As Dr. Kendi states: \u201cSomeone is being racist if their actions, inaction or expression of antiracist ideas support racist policy. Someone is being anti-racist if their actions or expression of anti-racist ideas support anti-racist policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not seeing my colour means we will never have a conversation about how our experiences will have been different. Not seeing colour takes away my history, what makes me who I am today. It takes away our opportunity to have a conversation about how I burst with pride when my children tell me about externals going to their schools to run workshops on how to talk about race and differences and the questions they felt able to ask and discuss.<\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t see colour, if we don\u2019t see our differences, if we don\u2019t acknowledge and have conversations, we will never understand the walk, the journey of anyone with a difference, it will always be someone else\u2019s responsibility. <\/p>\n

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Support for employers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For in-house anti-racism training, take a look at some of our recent webinar topics below, or get in touch with our training team<\/a> for bespoke training options.<\/p>\n