Colorblindness in a Color-Sensitive Culture

In my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri there is a war occurring.

The tragic shooting of Michael Brown by law enforcement has sparked violent protests among the black community. Saying the city is on the verge of chaos would be a gross understatement, as much of the city’s population is bracing for what may be dangerous race war and retaliation. As I spoke with my cousin who lives in Saint Louis city, he explained his fear for his family’s safety in their neighborhood. He told me about the influx of National Guard troops and even the Ku Klux Klan planning on countering and fighting protesters.

As I mulled over this desperate situation, more than 2,000 miles away at college, I began to ask myself a simple question; how can we find reconciliation? When I speak to someone, I don’t evaluate the color of their skin because I am colorblind. Now, I’m not talking about a physical problem, but rather a state of mind and attitude. Instead, I choose to see a man for the content of his character, not his skin color as the late Martin Luther King Jr. once said. It seems apparent that the liberal media and our friends to the left of common sense have seized an opportunity to incite unprecedented unrest and racial tension among the black community. They along with our nation’s leadership have sought to instigate, levy, and promote man’s sense of color awareness.

We have seen the Media’s obsession with racial tension over the years, from Rodney King to Trayvon Martin. I’m afraid that they jump to conclusions before seeing the evidence and assume it’s racially driven without hesitation. I think our nation’s leaders and their leftist media counterparts need a lesson on what it means to be colorblind. As a people, we must be willing to take the first step in reconciliation by laying down what we demanded as our rights. Our rights to harbor bitterness, anger, and resentment must be fully surrendered with an attitude of humility in order for the processes of reconciliation to begin.

A true sense of colorblindness in our culture is the pivotal approach to catalyst the process. How long will we wear the scars of our past as an excuse for retaliation? Will we desperately cling to our rights at the expense of our future? I refuse this notion. I choose rather to extend my hand to the enemy, and declare him my brother. We’ll never experience true reconciliation until we lay down our rights and cling to our responsibility.

Too much blood has been spilled and too many have given their lives for this type violence and racial retaliation to continue. And as Martin Luther King Jr. said,

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” — Martin Luther King, Jr.