Examples Of Multiculturalism In The Colorblind

Colorblindness: An Unattainable Utopia

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, ‘I Have a Dream,’ inspired hope for many Black Americans to continue to fight for the civil rights of people of color. However, many have misinterpreted this line to think that skin color does not matter. In the novel, The White Boy Shuffle, Paul Beatty rejects the notion of colorblindness and multiculturalism through Gunnar and his experiences of being Black, ultimately espousing how race is an integral aspect of everyday life.

The contrast between the material taught in Santa Monica and the

is colorblind and ultimately does not acknowledge racism. This teaches the majorly white privileged students to be tone deaf to racist experiences people of color face as they begin to view the world as a utopia where everyone lives in an equal society. Ironically, Gunnar’s first encounter with the justice system when moving to Hillside is racially motivated. He is immediately asked, “What’s your gang affiliation?” because he is a young Black American (47). The police profile Gunnar as someone who disobeys the law due to his skin color, the opposite of what he was taught at Santa Monica. The contradictory learning between the classroom and reality breaks the ideology of a colorblind society within the United States. At Hillside, Gunnar learns the systematic racism built into a society that serves White Americans and how a multicultural society does not exist. As a Black American, Nick is also subjected to harsher judgments based on skin color. During his basketball season at BU, Nick continues to make every basket, “[throwing] every theory, every formula, every philosophical dogma out of whack” (192). Though this would be a talent that most people would admire and want, Nick is under

Being based on White standards means that the burden of achieving racial equality solely lands on the people of color. Gunnar describes the history of Black Americans fighting for their civil rights, “in the quest for equality, black folks have tried everything. We’ve begged, revolted, entertained, intermarried, and are still treated like shit” (2). Despite the fact that Black Americans have attempted to conform to and change White American culture for generations, racism is prevalent yet ignored. New education uses colorblindness and multiculturalism to cover modern-day racism, pretending that today’s society is past discrimination despite Black Americans “still being treated like shit.” Hillside reflects the racist values of society by stereotyping Black students as being in need “to liberate [them] from a cult of self-destructiveness and brainwash [the students] into joining the sect of benevolent middle-class American normalcy” (112). These assemblies automatically place Hillside students in a box that is drawn by stereotypes, effectively going against everything that Gunnar was taught in Santa Monica about race. Judged by American White class culture, to be considered successful in the eyes of society, Black students must go through “deprogramming sessions” to