In my experience, some people tend to become overly defensive about their being 'colorblind' because it serves as a shield of sorts against any potential accusations of racism. I've seen it illustrated over and over again on this board and others over the last three days. There was a time growing up in the military when I bought into the concept of our nation being a melting pot and that 'race doesn't matter,' but in my personal and professional experience as an adult, I've come to believe that being 'colorblind' is more dangerous than helpful.
I once met a woman of color who articulated it perfectly, I wish I had had the sense to write it down all those years ago- but in summary, she explained that it's awesome when people want to give her the same degree of respect as they would any white woman, and she understands why people would want to 'see her as a person, not just as a black person,' but to see her without acknowledging the fact that she's black is to ignore a huge part of who she is, or the hundreds of years of cultural history that have contributed to how she identifies herself. Kinda like if we were to see a man wearing a preacher's collar and pretend we don't know he's religious. Maybe one day things will be different, but we're not talking about a thousand generations between then and now, we're talking about a culture only a few generations out from legalized racism (Jim Crow). We still have a lot of work to do.
I hate to get political, because it's never going to end well, but if we don't talk about race or racism or perceptions of reality and how race 'matters,' then we're doomed to allow culturally ingrained biases to perpetuate and evolve into even uglier problems than they already are. I do not think Steve Patterson hired Charlie Strong because he's black, but I do think it's important to celebrate that an enormous barrier has been breached by Texas bringing in a black head coach. And I think it's exciting! Why NOT celebrate it? Whether people want to acknowledge it or not, any fifty-plus year old black man in the United States of America who aspires to an HC position at a major university is going to face a considerable number of challenges that the average white man wouldn't even dream of.
In short, he's a talented coach, it's going to be exciting to see what he does in the next few years, and he's also the first black head coach at the university of Texas. It's okay to talk about it! That's how we learn to empathize with one another's experiences, grow as individuals, and evolve as a society.
Warning: I get like this, all verbose and passionate, about any number of issues. Sorry in advance.
