Should we be colorblind?
Published by Drew G. I. Hart, PhD
Rev. Dr. Drew G. I. Hart is an associate professor of theology at Messiah University and has 10 years of pastoral experience prior to teaching. He currently directs Messiah University's "Thriving Together: Congregations for Racial Justice" program and co-hosts Inverse Podcast with Jarrod McKenna, an award-winning peace activist from Australia. Hart is the author of Trouble I've Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism (2016) and Who Will Be A Witness?: Igniting Activism for God's Justice, Love, and Deliverance (2020). And he is also a co-editor and contributor to the recently published book entitled Reparations and the Theological Disciplines: Prophetic Voices for Remembrance, Reckoning, and Repair (Nov. 2023). Hart received bcmPEACE’s 2017 Peacemaker Award, the 2019 W.E.B. Du Bois Award in Harrisburg, PA, and most recently in December 2023 Life Esteem Ministries recognized him in Harrisburg with the Harambee Award for the Nguzo Saba Principle of Umoja—Unity for his faith-based activism and public scholarship in the community. Drew and his family live in Harrisburg, PA. View more posts
Drew G. I. Hart 
It ends up being a bit convoluted. I’m colorblind in the sense that I don’t care about people racial genetics. I’m not, however, “culture blind” as base my initial opinions and expectations of people upon what culture they seem to identify themselves as being a part of.
Yet, some cultures are essentially mono-racial so there’s at least a perceived overlap as various insults like, “Apple,” “Oreo,” and “Uncle Tom” give evidence of.
Face it, if a Black dresses “street,” I’m going to assume he’s a thug and potential threat and treat him accordingly. Conversely, in many areas of the US, if a Black saw me dressed “redneck” they would equally assume I was a potential threat and treat me accordingly.
In neither of the above examples is it about race; it’s about cultures – and not all cultures are equal, nor should all parts of all cultures be condoned as being valid parts of American society.
In the clip, Terrance says it best.