All three of these novels bring to readers' minds the following question: who gets to be seen as human? In my Critical Race Theory class, this was a very important question to interrogate. In the past, blatant racism was written into our laws (Jim Crow, the Black Codes, etc). In today's society, according to Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, color-blind racism is hegemonic. This theory refers to the common assertion made by white people that they don't "see" color. Color-blind racism relies on the assumption that if one doesn't name race, it can't be racist. This belief is very problematic. The neoliberal phenomenon of color-blind racism translates to what my CRT professor Dr. Falguni Sheth refers to as "race-neutral" law. The law may not explicitly refer to race, but this does not mean it isn't racist. The Declaration of Independence famously states that "all men are equal", legislators and those in power have historically manipulated who is included in the group of "men" to benefit white people and disadvantage people of color. This relates to our notion of world building; who in our world is seen as an autonomous person. In an utopia, we would hope that ALL people were afforded the same respect, control, and to be seen as human.
