According to the latest woke wisdom, to be “colorblind” is actually a way to “uphold racism.” Writing for the esteemed publication Psychology Today, Monnica Williams, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Ottawa, explains:

“Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity. However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to heal racial wounds on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that in the end operates as a form of racism.”

From expert psychologists to pop culture, the verdict is in. If you’re “colorblind,” you’re a racist. As Samantha Vincenty, a “white Latinx,” puts it in her article for The Oprah Magazine, “Being ‘Color Blind’ Doesn’t Make You Not Racist—In Fact, It Can Mean the Opposite.” Elaborating, she writes “Color blindness relies on the concept that race-based differences don’t matter, and ignores the realities of systemic racism.”

Judging from recent and not-so-recent events, however, America is in no imminent danger of becoming “colorblind.” In pursuit of racial justice, America’s institutions now boast a fifty year legacy of preferential treatment for “people of color” in literally every significant facet of society. Affirmative action policies, either explicit or defacto, govern university admissions and faculty hiring. Similar policies are in place across corporate America, enforcing racial quotas in hiring and promotions. In applications for government loans and government contracts, minority owned businesses always get preferential treatment.

And then of course there is the legacy of the “War on Poverty,” an entire ecosystem of entitlements designed to elevate the less fortunate, certainly including, even emphasizing, America’s “people of color.” Programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (food stamps), subsidized housing, public housing, housing vouchers, Supplemental Security Income, welfare, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Head Start, Pell Grants, and much, much more.

Trillions have been spent on these programs, but according to the woke, from Black Lives Matter to the Biden campaign, trillions more need to be spent. Free college. A “right to shelter” (free housing), guaranteed basic income, and, fundamental to achieving true racial justice, reparations for slavery.

At this point it is necessary to declare, openly and unequivocally, that for a white American to have an opinion on issues impacting black Americans is not only a right, it is an obligation. But you wouldn’t know that according to the “woke.” For them, a conscientious anti-racist white American “ally” must “stop talking, start listening.” They must “listen and learn.” They must “shut up and listen.” If you want to be a “good white ally,” then you must “listen more than you speak.”

There’s nothing wrong with listening, but it’s time for white people – especially those who already recognize where the “woke” agenda is leading – to speak out as well. It is time for white people to speak out directly to the black community, and challenge some of the fundamental premises of the leftist narrative that dominates the black community.

The reason for this should be obvious: Black voters have been nearly monolithic in their support of Democratic candidates and causes. This November, the black voting bloc is going to determine the outcome of one of the most consequential elections in American history. And it isn’t just this election, it’s all of them.

For decades, the Democratic party has owned the black vote. The entire time, they’ve successfully tagged Republicans as racist, and cast themselves as the only hope for the black American. Their tactics are exploitative and infantile. It’s astonishing they work, but apparently they do. Joe Biden: “If ya’ll don’t vote for me, you ain’t black!” Joe, are you kidding? This ploy works?

Nobody disputes the fact that black Americans have, on average, less income, less household wealth, and less education than whites. Nor does anyone dispute that black Americans are convicted of crimes and incarcerated at higher rates than whites. But it’s time to stop blaming all of this on racism.

Ordinary black voters, not the careerists in academia and politics who get rich saying it, but ordinary folks, ought to question why leveling the “racism” accusation in America today requires more and more creativity. Whites aren’t overt racists anymore. Everybody knows that. So now they have to be “unconscious racists.” They have to commit “systemic racism,” since otherwise, apparently, there would be no disparity whatsoever between white achievements and black achievements.

Does anybody really believe this? And if so, is it merely because not enough whites, or blacks, are stepping up and telling an alternative narrative? It would go something like this:

If you want to close the academic achievement gap, then get rid of the teachers unions and implement school choice. If you want to reduce incidents of police brutality, then get rid of the police unions, or at the least, make it impossible for them to continue protecting bad cops. If you want your children to stop ending up in prison, then stay married so they can grow up with a male and female role model in the home.

You can start right there. Because if you don’t, all the trillions in the world will not uplift your communities. That is the hard truth.

There are plenty of leaders in the black community who are trying to spread this message. With apologies to the thousands of black leaders not included, here’s a very short list of these heroes:

Justin Wilson, Antonia Okafor, Candace Owens, Dr. Carol Swain, Chandler Crump, CJ Pearson, Anthony Brian Logan, David J Harris Jr., Lynnett Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson (Diamond and Silk), Jesse Lee Peterson, KingFace, Larry Elder, Mike Nificent, Allen West, Pastor Mark Burns, Patricia Dickson, Horace Cooper (Project 21), Shekinah Geist, Stacy Dash, Star Parker, Terrence K Williams, Taleed Brown, Keith Hodge and Kevin Hodge, Brandon Tatum, Will Johnson, Wayne Dupree, Jon Miller, Jamarcus Dove-Simmons, Derrick Blackman, Mind of Jamal, Jermain Botsio, Jay McCaney, Joel Patrick, Bryson Gray, Peggy Hubbard, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, Glenn C. Loury, and Ward Connerly.

Black voters need to realize that the organizations that have emerged in the past few years to protest on their behalf, such as Black Lives Matter, are ran by Marxists and are funded by leftist, white, billionaires. Black voters need to imagine what life is going to be like in the world these movements envision.

Is it going to help the black community in America if small businesses are crushed, if the price of basic essentials is higher than ever, if the only way to survive is via government subsidies, if private property and business ownership becomes something only available to the politically connected and the super rich?

Is it going to help the black community if instead of learning the tough basics of math and English, students indoctrinated to become politically correct, to become resentful and race conscious in everything they see and do?

Do black voters understand that the only way to enforce equal outcomes and equal achievements by race is through a socialist tyranny that would permeate every facet of our economy and society? Do black voters recognize that socialism has never delivered freedom or prosperity, anywhere, anytime, throughout human history?

Conscientious white Americans, in their laudable desire to be allies with black Americans, cannot hope to do long-term good merely by sharing their wealth. They must also assert the values that created that wealth. The leftists that are manipulating the Black Lives Movement stigmatize core elements of Western Civilization and the American experience – capitalism, meritocracy, Christianity, cultural assimilation, and the nuclear family – as inherently racist and oppressive.

This leftist version of America’s character is inaccurate and unhealthy. It is a sick, nihilistic lie. If black voters are not convinced to reject this lie, they will elect increasingly extreme leftist politicians who will destroy America, and with it, opportunities for everyone, white and black. The lie must be challenged without reservations, equivocation or apology. It must be challenged ceaselessly and persuasively, without rancor but with passion, with white and black conservatives speaking as one.

The American way, to reward personal initiative, to respect private property, to strive for limited government, cannot guarantee that all identifiable ethnic groups will achieve equality in average individual achievements. But in pursuit of greater equality in outcomes, it is idiocy to abandon the ideal of a colorblind society.

Being colorblind does not “uphold racism.” It is the only way to eliminate racism.

This article originally appeared on the website American Greatness.

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