Race Panel Rejects ‘Colorblind’ Ideal

President Clinton should abandon the idea of creating a “colorblind” society as a way of ridding the nation of racial stereotypes, his race advisory board is telling him. In a letter to Clinton, obtained by the Associated Press, board chairman John Hope Franklin wrote that stereotypes remain because Americans believe it is best to try to ignore race. That, in turn, forces people to bury--and therefore harbor--beliefs they form from stereotypes. “Given that research has demonstrated that the best way to reduce racial stereotyping is to be conscious about racial differences, it is important to present a thoughtful alternative to the ‘colorblind society’ concept,” Franklin wrote. The White House was noncommittal.