Color blind?

It was an interesting class. We were putting the finishing touches on "structural family therapy" when it occurred to me that stepping back a bit and considering "structure" as a notion against the larger landscape of institutions and power would be an interesting thing to do.

With marker in hand, I drew a family of five, complete with structural symbols and all. Then, alongside the family was "the farm" and the family's attachment to it. Towering over them was the USDA/FSA in DC, the state, and the county, all institutions of power and influence. We explored possibilities of power given the current context of things around Black farmers.

Then, I loosely quoted J. L. Chestnut, attorney for the plaintiffs in the Pigford Class Action case, "The rules and the law may be colorblind, but people are not." Then, one of our students suggested something to the effect that we need to see the world as "colorful" rather than through "colorblind" eyes. I think he's right on target. To be blind to color would be to deny something that is formative in our sense of self. God is a God of diversity. After all, look at His children, "every color dark or light," words we sing in church. That is the godly, respectful thing to do.

However, in our courts and in our policy-making, it's not always that way.

I've never talked to Mr. Chestnut, but it seems to me that his point is simple, "The rules and the law should be fair and equitable to all people," pure and simple, although you and I know that that's not the way it is many times. His point, "but people are not," goes a long way to say that too often, people in positions of power and influence make decisions because of color of skin, and people of color are left on the fringes. Cassandra Jones Havard's article as linked above speaks volumes to this issue. I'd encourage all of us to read it.

So, Mathis, you and Mr. Chestnut are both correct. Let's see people "colorfully" and God as a God of diversity. Let's also recognize that the law and policies while intended to be fair and equitable are in the hands of people who too often are thinking otherwise.