When you were growing up in the 70'sand 80's, like the rest of the country, you probably didn't have mixed communities to the degree that there are now.
Redlining was prevalent, de-segregation wasn't complete, some areas still practiced in, and communities were still divided.
Everyone knew what "the bad part of town" meant, and what "they're a bad influence" meant. As kids we didn't know... but at the same time? Yeah, we kinda knew.
We knew why our white friends from school couldn't stay the night or vice versa, why other white kids couldn't play with us, why we couldn't associate outside of school...
But even then, you know who did do all those things? Poor white people, because they couldn't afford to live "in the good part of town" and rich white folk wouldn't let their kids play with them either.
It was also a class thing, but mostly it was a color thing.
Everyone saw color. They (meaning some white people) just got really good at being polite about it and talking around it. They even changed up the language when the same thing happened to them.
Remember crack epidemic that hit the black community? They called black people thugs and criminals, and the response was to crack down with law enforcement and pass harsher drug sentences and plaster the airwaves with "just say no".
But when the opioid epidemic hit white white community, they didn't call those white people thugs and criminals. It was medical crisis and these people were victims and suffering and needed help, and the response was help centers and rehab programs and community outreach.
Oh, they saw color.
Remember the aids pandemic and how black people with HIV/AIDS were treated? They were immoral blights on the community, and there were roving bands of "gay patrols" where black people were hunted down and beaten for being gay. They became pariahs and were forced to hide because they could lose everything, the least of which was their job.
And when it was known that there were just as many if not more homosexual white people than black people?
They changed the language again. Suddenly homosexuals weren't gays and fags. They were people and it was an "alternative lifestyle".
And when it comes to Obama, all people DEFINITELY see color. He didn't divide the country with racism. He got elected and the racists in the country went from being polite and quiet to being very loud.
The racism he was met with - the whole birther thing, was racism... to his wife being called a man, was racism. Y'all were calling him all kinds of apes and gorillas and stuff - racism. You know how many people got away with straight up calling them the n-word?
They went after his kids! Talking about how they don't act like young ladies, when in fact they did, and what they meant was, they didn't act white.
"I don't see color" is a dog whistle for the return of the polite and quiet kind of racism. It's what some people say because they've seen racism for the first time and can't really process so they exclude themselves.
We ALL see color.
Now... if you read all that. My hat's off to you, because it shows you're being genuine about discourse on racism, and you would know that I avoided blaming all white people on purpose, and that I also didn't say all white people are racist.
My goal was to show the lived experiences and the privilege of some white people when they say they don't see color.
As a black person you can't help but see color because the people with power and influence make decisions and take actions based on color and it affects your life - they just call it something else.