To say that you don’t see colour is to tell a blatant lie when, as humans, we see the world in colour.
From opening our eyes in the morning to closing them at night, colour is one of the only constants in our lives. It’s something that we base our whole lives upon.
Without a watch, we can tell the time based on what colour the sky is.
Daylight vs darkness.
Sunrise vs sunset.
We can determine whether it’s safe to go out (if you’re a woman. Men generally don’t have this concern because, as with race, privilege is also based on gender). We can determine what to wear if we do go out (is the sky grey, dulled by clouds, or is it yellow, lit up by the sun)?
Colour forms such a big part of our lives but, as with most things that are a constant (like our sense of smell, for example), we overlook its importance, forgetting the value that we attach to it.
Not only can colour determine our actions (to go out or not to go out/to take an umbrella or not to take an umbrella), but also, our thoughts.
We all have a favourite colour, choosing specific shades for our homes and cars and clothes based on what it is that we want to feel, since to colour we subconsciously attach meaning…
Red = Anger
Yellow = Optimism
White = Innocence
Black = Danger
but based on what?
Where do our subconscious beliefs come from?
To answer this question, we must first understand the basics behind colour psychology.
Colour psychology is the study of how different colours affect human mood and behaviour.
While our perception of colour often varies on an individual basis, one 2020 study, linked here, found that associations are often societal as opposed to purely personal (see below).
- 51% of respondents associated black with sadness
- 43% of people associated white with relief
- 68% associated red with love
- 39% linked green to contentment
- 52% felt that yellow means joy
Consequently, the study’s researchers suggested that colour-emotion associations appear to have universal qualities. Although this, in the majority of cases, is harmless (we use our perception of colour to interpret paintings, for example), it can also be harmful when division is created based on class (blue collar vs. white collar), gender (pink vs. blue), and/or race (black vs. white)…
*While I have been discussing colour in a general sense thus far, the real purpose of this blog post is to open up a (much-needed) conversation surrounding race.*
Where do our stereotypes of black vs white come from?
Consider the meaning and use of terms like blacklist or black sheep, for example. Black has become symbolic of the outcast/the ‘one to be avoided’, and it is for this reason that lighter skin tones are considered more desirable than darker skin tones.
Dating back to the slave trade of the 18th century where skin colour was often used as the basis for the division of labour (darker-skinned slaves typically had more physically demanding jobs, whereas lighter-skinned slaves were given more desirable positions), in the West, beauty standards are Eurocentric. Women who have lighter skin, straighter hair, and more European facial features are preferred over features that are considered more ‘historically’ African. Why? Because it’s easier to hate someone when they don’t look like you…
Alas, it’s not about ‘not seeing colour’, (as we have discussed, colour is not something that cannot be seen when it is everywhere). It is, however, about recognising privilege and the imbalance of power. It’s about recognising, if you’re white, that you are given a head start in life solely due to the colour of your skin.
As a white person, you do not have to worry when you leave the house that you will be attacked.
You do not have to worry about the way that you will be perceived when you walk down the street. ‘He looks like a criminal.’
As a white person, life is just life and not an obstacle course for which you have no instruction manual.
And this is precisely your privilege, to not have to say ‘It’s a privilege to be here’ when you’re in a ‘white’ space.
When you’ve worked twice as hard to get into the very same space that white people sleepwalk into, what does that even mean?
I’ll tell you what it means… It means that being white is still viewed as being ‘superior.’
To reiterate again, though, it’s not about not seeing colour, it’s about opening your eyes wide enough to see it better than all the [racist] people who came before…
It’s about opening your eyes wide enough to
Portfolio of Hope 