# Color consciousness

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'''Color consciousness''' is a theory stating that equality under the law is insufficient to address racial inequalities in society. It rejects the concept of fundamental [racial](/source/racial) differences, but holds that physical differences such as [skin color](/source/skin_color) can and do negatively impact some people's life opportunities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Appiah |first1=Kwame Anthony |last2=Gutmann |first2=Amy |title=Color Conscious...The Political Morality of Race|year=1996|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ}}</ref>

[United States Supreme Court](/source/United_States_Supreme_Court) Justice [Harry Blackmun](/source/Harry_Blackmun) in 1978, stated, "In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently"<ref>{{cite web|last=Blackmun|first=Harry|title=Separate Opinion|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0438_0265_ZX3.html|work=Regents of the University of California v. Bakke|publisher=SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES|accessdate=30 September 2013}}</ref> (''[Regents of the University of California v. Bakke](/source/Regents_of_the_University_of_California_v._Bakke)'').

[David R. Roediger](/source/David_R._Roediger) in his book ''Wages of Whiteness'' draws a distinction between black and white wage workers in the 19th century: 
{{quote|As early as 1807, the British investor Charles W. Janson published the indignant replies he had received when he visited an acquaintance in New England and asked the maid who answered the door, 'Is your master home?' Not only did the maid make it clear that she had 'no master' but she insisted, 'I am Mr. ____'s ''help''. I'd have you to know, ''man'', that I am no ''sarvant''; none but ''negars'' are ''sarvants''.'<ref>{{cite book|last=Roediger|first=David|title=The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class|year=2007|publisher=Verso|location=New York|isbn=978-1-84467-126-7|page=47}}</ref>}}
This distinction between free black and white wage workers shows a kind of negative color consciousness, in which the white "help" insists on being recognized as a white person, since she is therefore higher in the social hierarchy even though she is employed as an unskilled laborer. That contrasts with modern notions of positive color consciousness, through such endeavors as [affirmative action](/source/affirmative_action), to bolster those who were disadvantaged by their race.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

==See also==
* [Color blindness (race)](/source/Color_blindness_(race))
* [Identity politics](/source/Identity_politics)
* [Race-conscious policy](/source/Race-conscious_policy)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Ansell |first=Amy Elizabeth |title=Race and Ethnicity: The Key Concepts |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8_y3Q6fzgQAC&q=%22color+consciousness%22 |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-33794-6 |chapter=Color-Consciousness |pages=45–47}}

Category:Racism
Category:Supreme Court of the United States
Category:Politics and race

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Color consciousness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_consciousness) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_consciousness?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.