Race is, and always has been, a real issue in American society. Race is not something that can be ignored-it alone has been the motivation for social policy and laws that were created at the founding of this country. Thus, race must be incorporated in social movements that seek to obtain justice and equality. Professors Guinier and Torres describe what they term “political race”: race as a political space. Incorporating their concept of political race into social movements gives these movements an opportunity to be successful.

Now that America is living through the post-Civil Rights era, some people, whether conservative or confused, are calling for a “colorblind society.” Although the theory of colorblindness is portrayed as positive-everyone receives equal treatment because race is ignored-it can be very negative for people of color and the country as a whole. In The Miner’s Canary, Professors Guinier and Torres explain that race is more than a biological category. Rather, “race … is an ideological position one holds as well as a social position one occupies.”‘ Ignoring race results in a loss of identity for people of color and overlooks the discrimination and hardships that people of color live with and struggle to overcome.

“Colorblindness” has become political jargon for right-wing organizations such as the Center for Individual Rights. These organizations attack affirmative action programs that use race as a factor in decision making, and those attacks divert attention from the existence of racism and systemic social problems facing people of color.