As I listened to Melody Hobson's TED Talk on race titled, "Color Blind or Color Brave", I sensed her honesty. She was also extremely relatable. When I hear people claim to be color blind, I struggle with understanding what they might mean. Mankind is made up of different races. I look very different from my Caucasian and Asian friends. It would be silly for me to see I am blind to our differences.
Race is often a difficult and painful thing to talk about especially when you believe you have been marginalized because of it. There are so many ridiculous stereotypes that we have with regards to race. I have often heard things like, "If you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book. Black people never go in water that's deeper than knee high because they don't swim. All Asians are smart." Well - I love books! I collect books. I spend a lot of time reading. It gives me great joy. However, I don't swim and I have met Asians that are not particularly bright.
There is good and bad in all of us. As Melody said at the end of her talk, "Let's not be color blind. Let's be color brave so every child knows that their future matters and their dreams are possible". Let's hold on to our dreams regardless of how we think the world might perceive us. Success is available to all. All we need is equal opportunity to shine. A very wise woman once said, "The only thing that separates women of color from everyone else is opportunity".
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