All Skin Tones on Our Rainbow.
I am calling for white, black and every shade of brown, to be added into our rainbow icon for better representation of full inclusion, including our flags. Similarly, at some point soon we must embrace “European American” and the ilk into our multicultural lexicon just as we explore and evolve how we refer to ourselves.
We desperately need images that allow all folks to feel part if our progressive inclusion. In an age where division is the typical aftermath of social media self-coloring, equity will require that we add everyone’s plurality into our broad mosaic. We must add skin tones showcasing of all of us rather than just the bright colors.
Yes, its true that some colors have more prominence as presumed background and authorized normality. Still it is also a fact that as you get close to your screen you’ll notice any shade always has tone and that the pixels on the screen are actually composed of combinations of colored light.
To sew together multiculturalism is to embrace an alliance of everyone by recognizing that each of us carries age, gender, sexuality, race, language, dialect, social economic status, religion (or spirituality or atheism), body differences, and so much more, including heritages from continents, counties and cultures. Each of us is comprised of many colors. Even skin color varies across parts of our bodies.
Of course we also must affirm the fact that certain kind of combinations of these multiple realities can overpower other identities, even while we must strive of equity. However without embracing the full spectrum of color, we miss the fact that certain folks can feel ironically dis-empowered and marginalized despite the true facts. Yet I believe the counter gripes and reverse racism lashes indicate a inner goal to still be seen and recognized, albeit sometimes without affirming all the rest. In fact, if some European Americans sense an oppression right now, mostly likely it stems from an emotional sense that they are being ostracized or their particular perception of reality will never be fully understood. Out icons and terminology may indeed question whether everyone will be eventually welcomed.
That fear is different that expecting all of us to give up who we are and move to some bland center. Albeit, the physical reality of colored beams of light all merge together into a perceived whiteness should concern us. Intead, we’ll need to move onto a fuller artists’ palate of base colors.
Imagine, then, a rainbow that now has new colors representative of faces, hair color, eye color…the colors can even blur slightly into one another. Consider, rather than just being an arch shape, our symbol becomes a spiral, perhaps a double helix, where various combinations, even tone, can appear: a logo that embraces the science and the art of humanity in all its color.
Each of us is unique mix of our past, present and future casting. We must call upon our artists to design a new icon and flag that has each of us introspective about who we were, who we are and what we’ll be, people of all colors, including white, black and all tones of brownish tan.
