Color Blind or Color Brave? Summary
2 min read ⌚
Racism still exists, and there is no need to stay quiet about it.
About Mellody Hobson
Mellody Hobson is president of Ariel Investments and a regular financial contributor to CBS and ABC news.
“Color Blind or Color Brave? Summary”
Even though we live in an advanced society, it seems that race is still an uncomfortable topic for many people.
However, Mellody Hobson, in her TED talk “Color Blind or Color Brave?” argues the time has time to become “comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation about race.”
Ignoring an issue will never help to solve it. Instead, it can only make the things worse.
We have to be honest with ourselves that racial discrimination is a giant problem, that we can no longer stay quiet about.
Many people believe they are “color blind.”
However, such selective blindness which manifests as a conviction that it is a coincidence being surrounded by people who look the way they do is another way of ignoring the problem.
Real change can only come from confronting the issues head-on and working through the discomfort they cause until ultimately resolving them.
Hence, instead of “color blindness” we need to promote “color braveness,” and engagement in honest and meaningful dialogues about race and racial issues.
Talking openly about discrimination – and solving it, is not only moral, but it also is a competitive advantage.
Why?
Because creating groups of people with different backgrounds can prove invaluable to tackling demanding activities and finding solutions to various problems.
Just about anyone can move from being color blind to being color brave.
If you wish to change, where do you start?
You begin by becoming aware of people that surround you. Notice the group in which you usually function daily.
Try to mix it up. Try to communicate with various people, with different backgrounds, ethnicities, and thus mindsets and ideas.
Expand your network, so it incorporates diversity.
This diversity will surely help you change and broaden your own worldview.
And ultimately, it will help in creating a world which is a better place to live for everyone in it.
Key Lessons from “Color Blind or Color Brave?”
1. Ignorance is No Bliss
2. Addressing Discrimination as Competitive Advantage
3. Moving from Color Blindness to Color Braveness
Ignorance is No Bliss
Ignoring an issue will never help to solve it. Instead, it can only make the things worse.
Real change can only come from confronting the issues head-on and working through the discomfort they cause until ultimately resolving them.
Addressing Discrimination as Competitive Advantage
Creating groups of people with different backgrounds can prove invaluable to tackling demanding activities and finding solutions to various problems.
Moving from Color Blindness to Color Braveness
Become aware of people that surround you. Try to communicate with various people, with different backgrounds, ethnicities, and thus mindsets and ideas.
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“Color Blind or Color Brave?” Quotes
Race is one of those topics in America that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable. Click To Tweet The first step to solving any problem is to not hide from it, and the first step to any form of action is awareness. Click To Tweet Racial discrimination threatens to rob another generation of all the opportunities that all of us want for all of our children, no matter what their color or where they come from. Click To Tweet If I walked you into a major corporation and every single person around the boardroom were black, you would think that were weird. Click To Tweet
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