In India, there is a broad spectrum of skin color. When
I was growing up, I saw children, men and women of colors ranging from very
black (which is often offensively referred to as the back of a frying pan in
some regions in India), to varying shades of brown (which is objectively called
wheatish in the notifications of matrimony or lost person reports) to fair
complexion ( pale white or yellow, or
pink). I, like most other people I knew, thought each of these shades as
colors. A very fair person fair has a skin color and so has a person who is dark
complexioned. Thus, because every person was a person of color, there was no
concept of person of color.
Living in New York City, I hear the phrase ‘people of color’
quite often. In the discussions about economic and social equality, researchers
and policy makers often use this phrase. We understand that, African American
and Hispanic communities have suffered oppression and inequality historically,
and that’s why there is vital need to work for empowerment of people of colors
if those are the races we refer to by ‘people of color’. But what surprised me
was an Indian woman referred to her as ‘people of color’. She came to America
two years ago and she is asserting her right to be given more opportunities. As
I observed further in various situations, including in employment forms, anyone
not white Caucasian is a person of color. All of my life, I didn’t consider myself or my
family any special because everyone was born with some color. So seeing this
identity given to me - ‘person of color’ confused me. Indians, who come to
America, for most part, are smart and bright people with reasonably decent
socio-economic background. By the time they reach the American shores, they
have had enough opportunities to get over any opportunity gap they might have
suffered in life so far. They come here on fellowships and scholarships and
pursue excellent careers. They don’t need special treatment from the
perspective of ‘opportunity gap’. Putting them in the category of ‘people of
color’ seems grossly inaccurate. This phrase has meanings beyond the literal
meaning about colors.
And speaking of colors, it is not still not clear that why
is white not a color? And you know who is white? - People having Albinism.
Everyone else is actually not white if we are discussing literally. By calling
every non-white-Caucasian as a person of color, are we not exercising a latent
form of racism? Are we not referring to one voice as a main stream voice, and
everything else as streams of voices that need to be heard?
