TED Accused of Suppressing Talk on Color Blindness

Coleman Hughes, a writer and podcast host, has accused TED of attempting to suppress his talk on color blindness, which he gave at the annual TED conference in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2023147. Hughes defended color blindness, the idea that people should be treated without regard to race, both in personal lives and in society3. He argued that the key to reducing inequality and easing racial tensions is replacing race-based policies with class-based ones3. However, Hughes claims that TED attempted to suppress his talk, which he believes was due to an ideological minority that has captured the organization14.

Hughes' talk, titled "A Case for Color Blindness," has been viewed over 150,000 times on the TED website3. In the talk, he argues that racial inequality provokes passionate opinions and varied ideas of how to build a fair, equitable society3. He suggests that color blindness is a solution to the obsession with race in America, which has recently led to a worsening of relations between whites and blacks7.

Hughes' experience with TED highlights how organizations can be captured by an ideological minority that bends even the people at the very top to its will14. The story of TED is the story of so many crucial and once-trustworthy institutions in American life1.

Key facts from the story:

• Coleman Hughes, a writer and podcast host, has accused TED of attempting to suppress his talk on color blindness, which he gave at the annual TED conference in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2023147.
• Hughes defended color blindness, the idea that people should be treated without regard to race, both in personal lives and in society3.
• Hughes' talk, titled "A Case for Color Blindness," has been viewed over 150,000 times on the TED website3.
• Hughes argues that the key to reducing inequality and easing racial tensions is replacing race-based policies with class-based ones3.
• Hughes' experience with TED highlights how organizations can be captured by an ideological minority that bends even the people at the very top to its will14.
• The story of TED is the story of so many crucial and once-trustworthy institutions in American life1.
• Hughes suggests that color blindness is a solution to the obsession with race in America, which has recently led to a worsening of relations between whites and blacks7.