Since the 1960s, the dominant model for fostering diversity and inclusion in the United States has been the “color blind” approach, which emphasizes similarity and assimilation and insists that people should be understood as individuals, not as members of racial or cultural groups. This approach is especially prevalent in the workplace, where discussions about race and ethnicity are considered taboo. Yet, as widespread as “color blindness” has become, many studies show that the practice has damaging repercussions, including reinforcing the existing racial hierarchy by ignoring the significance of racism and discrimination.

How might we implement alternative models for addressing the sensitive issue of race in the workplace? In their new RSF book, The Color Bind, authors Erica Foldy and Tamara Buckley offer a theory of “color cognizance” to describe a more effective method of confronting issues related to race and ethnicity. Color cognizance, as they define it, is the practice of recognizing and openly discussing the profound impact of race and ethnicity on life experiences (including acknowledging histories of discrimination) while also affirming the importance of racial diversity for society. Based on an intensive two-and-a-half-year study of employees at a child welfare agency, The Color Bind outlines how color cognizance is successfully deployed in a workplace setting, using three work teams in particular to illustrate the factors that enable color cognizance to flourish.

As the chart below outlines, Foldy and Buckley found that a group’s racial-cultural practice—in particular its ability to broach race and ethnicity—was determined by several key factors. At least a few of the team members must bring their own color cognizant perspective. But that individual-level belief is not enough. They must work in a team and office context that is both relatively safe and encourages reflection and productive resolution of conflict.

While two of the teams in the agency largely avoided explicitly discussing race, one group, “Team North,” openly talked about race and ethnicity in team meetings. By acknowledging these differences when discussing how to work with their clients and with each other, the members of Team North were able to address challenges related to race and culture instead of sidestepping them.

Three members of Team North in particular were crucial to the development of color cognizance within the team. Antonia, a Latina, Katie, a white woman, and Dave, a white man, all worked together in distinct roles to facilitate discussions of race among the other members of the group, as the figure below illustrates:

Through demonstrating their own color cognizant practice and creating a safe learning environment, this cross-racial team leadership was able to foster cohesion among the group. As Foldy and Buckley note, “Team members felt connected even as debates and differences kept bubbling up.” Rather than taking a “color blind” approach which would have emphasized their similarities, the team’s cohesion was built on identifying and embracing their differences—which meant they were able to withstand and overcome internal conflicts. This color cognizant group dynamic in turn informed their work within the child welfare agency, by enabling them to use racial and cultural lenses to address a wide range of client issues including disciplinary techniques and understandings of mental illness. It also enabled them to discuss team dynamics related to racial and ethnic differences.

To read more about The Color Bind and download a free study guide, click here.