Rev. Samuel Robles Jr.

The more I heard the phrase "person of color," and the more I was placed under that category by other people, the more I realized that it made me feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and at times, angry. Let me make this clear: I understand the phrase, and I understand what it is attempting to define, and I am very proud of who I am and who God created me to be. However, does a human being, a child of God, need to solely be defined by his/her skin color? As I continued to be looked upon and felt like I was an "other," I stopped hearing the words "person of color" and my brain began translating it to "anything but 'white'." (this is a bit amusing because I am a light skinned Puerto Rican)

Having grown up in diverse communities, e.g. New York, and for the most part, Orlando, I was never truly exposed to racism and race until 2005. I realized that I lived in a bubble all my life where diversity was the norm, but things changed when I left that bubble. For 4 years now I have wrestled with this phrase and the emotions it evokes in me, and I have come to my own conclusion: Everyone is a person of color! Not only are "black" and "brown" colors, but so is "white"! (please do not misinterpret me. I am not demonizing a particular people, but rather attempting to deconstruct what I find to be a discriminating ideology). In his book ¡Alabadle!, Justo González presents an idea that challenges the way "we" have been programmed to think about "race":

"Contrary to what we are told, racism is not the outcome of race, but vice versa. In other words, it is not race that gives rise to racism, but racism that gives rise to the very notion of 'race."" (16-17)

Talk about a paradigm shift! What exactly is separating "us" and creating divisions amongst ourselves? Could it be sin and hatred that in fact cause us to create a social hierarchy solely based on, in this context, our external appearance? What will it take for "us" to look past external appearances and look into what really makes us a person, the inside?

So what defines "race?" Unfortunately, from a more Westernized perspective, it is usually defined based on one's appearance. Ken Ham presents some intriguing scientific evidence involving genetics as he tackles the question, "Are there really different races?" He shares the following:

I find this to be eye-opening! This means that "we" are defining and labeling people based off of their external appearance, which is actually less than 1% of who they really are as a person. A plausible conclusion (in my opinion): The true differences that exist amongst people is not race, but culture. Even science has figured that out!

I've been wanting to see what this idea of "Everyone is a person of color" might look like. So, I asked someone to artistically express it, and here is what she came up with: