Is It Possible To Raise Your Children “Color Blind”

This has become a hot topic over the last few days ever since Kim Kardashian said that that when her child is born, it will not see color. Simply put (for the slow folks) they will not have to worry about identifying with any race in particular.

Kim Kardashian says:

“I have a lot of friends who are all different nationalities and their children are biracial so they have kind of talked to me a little about what to expect. I think that the most important thing is how I would want to raise my children is just to not see color. That’s important to me. I also think that there will be so many experiences that you won’t know how to prepare for until you really go through it. I think raising a child in general is challenging but I think that as long as you are really open minded and don’t have any per-conceived ideas of how you are going to really raise your children I think it keeps a broad spectrum. I mean, obviously you want your children, for me,  to travel the world and experience different races and different cultures. I think that is what’s most important, to just give as much information as I could” 

Many people feel this is ignorant and naive to say, some say “it’s her child, let her raise it how she wants” but that aside, do you think in this day and age that this thought is even possible?

My opinion on the subject is more realistic than ideal. Kim started off saying the ideal thing then drifted off into a place that makes no sense. It’s impossible to be color blind unless you are completely sheltered. Even then, friends and family will still know that you are black and so will your child. I don’t believe in going in with no preconceived plan, especially if you have never dealt with that type of racism before. Kim was raised in a neighborhood that was primarily Armenian, hung out with a racist white girl and dated black men who had a taste for the swirl as long as her butt was big. She has never really had to deal with what a black child or a child mixed with black would ever have to deal with. Raising a child who is visibly mixed is a different ball game. Whether you want your child to see color or not, children are not idiots. Your child is going to wonder why his skin is darker than his cousins or why the texture of his hair is not like the rest of the family. They are going to notice these traits as early as 2 years old. Then what? It’s going to come a time when they are going to want to choose an identity and won’t know how. I think it is incredibly naive to say you want to go in blind and raise a child who doesn’t see color. It would be great if things were that easy.

Let’s face it, it’s 2013 and racism is still alive. If anyone could tell Kim that, I would think Kanye would have. He spent the early half of his career rapping about it. A drop of Armenian blood isn’t going to change that. In fact, the child is likely to have an even harder time BECAUSE Kanye is it’s father. Face it, white people just don’t see it for Yeezy.

I’m the mother of an 8 year old child and although I’ve never mentioned race to him, he knows who is black, he knows who is white. He knew this as soon as he started school. My son is mixed (with a lot of stuff lol) but his dad is afro-latino so in a sense, he really doesn’t have a lot of the “mixed kid problems” because he appears 100% black. His dad’s side of the family is very blended and he loves his white cousins, black cousins, cuban cousins and puerto rican cousins all the same. Doesn’t change the fact that he knows that they are not all the same race, even though they all speak Spanish. Unless you shelter your child, there is no way around it. They will see color, people will see color in them and they will be treated accordingly.

The part that confused me is that Kim is privileged enough to have a child that can travel the world, see other cultures and learn about them. That is a blessing, not everyone can do that. But how in the same breath can you say you want a child to experience that, but deny them the knowledge of knowing that’s part of their heritage. Can you really take your child to Africa and not explain to them that part of their heritage is there? Do you raise that child to feel above that because they are only 50/50? These are things you have to at least consider, not brush under the rug until the time comes.

So what is your take, is it possible to raise your children color blind? For those of you who are biracial, what was your experience growing up?