Justice Clarence Thomas and the Conservative's 'Colorblind Constitution'

In today's decision the Supreme Court struck down the ability of schools to limit diversity among student ranks on the basis of race. While the issue of diversity and equality is a difficult path to navigate this quote from Justice Clarence Thomas, the bench's only African American judge, is most disturbing:

"What was wrong in 1954 cannot be right today," Thomas said. "The plans before us base school assignment decisions on students' race. Because 'our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens,' such race-based decisionmaking is unconstitutional."

To suggest that the Constitution is "colorblind" is absurd. The refusal of current historians, academicians and others to admit the power of race that was built into this document is folly. A folly that continues to be played out some 130 years later. Archaeological digs at Philadelphia put into perspective the reality of George Washington keeping slaves at the home of the president and continue to call into question his practices of scooting them in an out of the state every six months just so he could stay within the "legality" of keeping them indefinitely (it was long since illegal to keep slaves, unless you removed them from state lines before the six month period had passed). And then there's Jefferson mistress, Sally Hemings. From CNN to others it has been bantered about as to whether or not it is "true" that Jefferson fathered Sally Hemming's children but the Thomas Jefferson Foundation itself reported "that the weight of all known evidence - from the DNA study, original documents, written and oral historical accounts, and statistical data - indicated a high probability that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Eston Hemings, and that he was perhaps the father of all six of Sally Hemings' children". Yet others then mounted challenges against this "disgrace" because, of course the architects of the Constitution too must be color-blind in our eyes.

To have them, the architects of the Constitution, as slave holders, as oppressors of individual freedom of course runs counter to core purposes of the country and its ideals. But the Constitution was written by people who owned slaves, who were not permitted their freedoms - and "on purpose" since it would have financially ruined many, likely. At what point do/will people like Thomas admit this reality, that the Constitution is FLAWED in many respects. It can be revisited and should be re-interpreted with an eye to the reality of the day that casts forward the truth of our reality today. But Clarence has too much to lose... just ask Anita Hill what it's like to live in the world of his blind idiocy. And so the fragile fiction continues - but choose to know the whole story - not what the conservers of power want you to believe. Colorblindness is only a convenience, exercised at once to preserve white power (and I'm a white guy) but the glasses come off when it comes to terrorism, or crime don't you know it....