I wanted to get a discussion going on something that has been making me nuts lately. I’m surprised, frustrated, and a little bit confused by a recurring theme I’m seeing. Like everything else that has the potential to split the room I’m really trying to figure out why it bothers people so much when certain achievements are tied to an individual’s race. Why it is that when a barrier is broken and it is touted as an achievement people rush to say, “why do we care about the race of the individual, why is that relevant?” “Can’t so and so just be a quarterback, Rhodes Scholar or President?  Why do they have to be Black or Latino?” Now I know this is a simple difference of perspective. I know that what many people are trying to say is it’s the achievement that matters or maybe even the individual, but not the attribute of race that matters. In fact many people would actually suggest that the goal would be to take a color blind approach…to simply not see color. The problem with being color blind is that by definition it is part of the achievement. It is the difference that often makes the event noteworthy. My sense of why race matters so much is that it gets to a fundamental belief about difference…I think most people see difference as less than. I also think as an attempt to manage a painful past many would simply like to see it go away.  For the record let me say, “I think the individual’s race does matter.”  Again it’s a matter of perspective.

Whenever an achievement occurs, especially one thought to be groundbreaking, I would suggest there are two lenses in play.  One lens sees the achievement as the group finally being QUALIFIED.  The other lens sees the very same achievement as the BARRIER finally being broken down.  Is a group’s absence from any stage or setting a function of the group being less than or is it a system doing its job to minimize admittance? Black baseball players not good enough or not allowed to play?  (Jackie Robinson wasn’t even the best) Black golfers not good enough or not allowed to play? (Read the PGA rules of that era) Black music videos not good enough or just not aired? (Michael Jackson made MTV) 

So I think I know why people celebrate the achievement and how the notion of race will impact them when they do. Think about it and tell me what you think.