So not colorblind

Yesterday I was listening to a brief news story/summary of the Academy Award nominations on public radio. I forget what station it was, either KPCC, KPFK, or KCRW (89.3, 90.7, & 89.9 respectively in Los Angeles), one of those. So the reporter tells us what all the nominations are and then has to say, "There are a good number of African-Americans nominated this year as well" and then she mentions Forest Whitaker, Djimon Hounsou, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. As if that matters! Why are "we" as a society still doing this? Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of not being judged by the color of your skin cannot be realized until we can have people like this reporter on public radio actually STOP pointing out the differences in race. Why aren't Whitaker, Hounsou, Murphy, and Hudson, just good actors as opposed to African-American actors? I think most of us would find it ridiculous to say, "It's very nice that we have a two Mexicans, an Irishman, and a Japanese person nomiated this year." I used to think that being "colorblind" was something that we were striving for, but the more I actually pay attention, I don't think it's happening. Why do we continue to construct these barriers? Maybe it's just me.