(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Opinion | The Consequences of Not Seeing Color [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-05 Do you see me now? I realize skin color is the world’s most distinctive identifier, but that does not mean it should be dismissed. I have heard the well-meaning phrase in my nearly seventy years of earthly life more times than I would like; I don’t see color. White people, whom I consider friends and colleagues alike, have tossed around those words as if they are forgiving my blackness. Black Americans do not have the convenience of avoiding a conversation or uncomfortable moment by simply saying; I do not see color. More often than not, that nomenclature seems reserved for white people. I cannot speak for other minorities, but I am positive they hear a similar, if not the same, type of dismissiveness. The problem with not being seen is that when you are, it is generally in a negative light. The wind is always there, but you notice a tornado. As much as one might think one is rising to the heights of their liberalism—not seeing color is an insulting dismissal. It is called soul food, not progeny food; cornrows are not known as anti-Farrah Fawcett(s), and “Woke” is not a catch-all word for what ails you. When people try and disappear any group of color, it is usually for appropriation. At the turn of the century, full-bodied, full-lipped black iconography dotted the country’s entertainment landscape—Al Jolson, known as the king of blackface, performed in the first talking motion picture dressed in blackface and sang Mammy. Seeing a white woman with lip fillers, butt injections, and cornrows is almost commonplace. April Reese, the talented frontcourt player for the NCAA Women’s Champs Louisiana State University, was embroiled in an exaggerated controversy for 48 hours. With victory well in hand, Reese repeatedly pointed to her ring finger and made what is known as the ‘you-can’t-see-me’ gesture made famous by pro wrestler/actor John Cena. The critiques poured in from both the right and left, including Keith Olbermann, who called her an F-ing idiot. “Doesn’t matter the gender, the sport, the background - you’re seconds away from a championship, and you do something like this and overshadow all the good. Mindless, classless, and what kind of coach does this team have?” said Olbermann. Mr. Olbermann took great lengths to say gender and background did not matter but brought up gender and background in his tweet. He could have just as easily said, doesn’t matter the sport. Her gender is apparent, but what did he mean by “background?” Perhaps April Reese’s response to the sturm and drang of her gesture reveals the answer: x YouTube Video At 6’3” tall, Reese is hard to miss and even harder to be made invisible, but until she made that gesture, only the purest of basketball fans knew of her. In her own words, part of her narrative was to create a place for girls ‘who look like me.’ A consequence of not seeing color… Many little black girls see themselves in April Reese, and being told her color does not exist means, they, do not exist. Studies Weekly— publisher of educational material for kids, twice revised a book about Rosa Parks, changing her description from an African American woman to a woman with a different skin color and finally whitewashing her altogether. Not seeing color is not liberalism or woke, it is denialism. Continue to Vote for Change [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/5/2162108/-Opinion-The-Consequences-of-Not-Seeing-Color Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/