Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Color Blind or Color Brave


"I'm asking you not be color blind, but to be color brave." -Mellody Hobson

There are times in everyones lives where they will feel invisible.  Growing up I don't remember feeling invisible but I have had more of those experiences as I grow older.  I now see the way woman can be dismissed or how because of the career choice I have made I am judged immediately as unintelligent.  Being judged by individuals before they take the time to get to know you can feel crippling.  As a woman I am at a disadvantage in societies eyes, but as a white woman I have privileges that woman of other races do not have.

Mellody Hobson explains in her TED TALK about the profiling and judgments minorities face due to stereotypes of their race.  Mellody explains how society not only needs to accept all races and break past the constructed stereotypes but embrace and celebrate the potential of all individuals.  I believe that our media has a important impact in this.  Movies, television, and ads need to create a more widespread opportunity for all races.  I watched a video of Jesse Williams  about how black male actors often have to decide when they are first starting out whether to play the stereotypical black criminal who robs the rich white woman or pay their bills.   He explains how without real life exposer to individuals who are black the media makes everyone racist. It is unfair to stereotype the roles individuals can play based on race.  This not only happens in media but in all aspects of business.  

"We hav to be color brave.  We have to be willing, as teachers and parents and entrepreneurs, and scientists, we have to be willing to have proactive conversations about race with honesty and understanding and courage, not because its the right thing to do, but because its the smart thing to do." -Mellody Hobson


No comments:

Post a Comment