Am I a Racist?
"If you have to ask if you are a racist, you are. And if you are not asking if you are a racist, you are." So says Angela Bell, an
assistant professor of psychology at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. The point is that we cannot avoid being racist; it's in our culture and in our bones.
As individuals, we can be racist even if that is not our intention. We can even be racist even when we are affirmatively trying not to do so. We can be a committed anti-racist and still have occasional racist thoughts or feelings, or engage in racist behaviors. The sense of "Otherness" runs deep in us.
As I mentioned in my last post, the question isn't whether we are racist, but whether we feed and nurture our racism or we push back against it. I think of it like an addiction: we may not be able to erase it entirely, but we can be in conscious recovery for the rest of our life. And on the individual level, we who are White must be recovering racists if we are ever to dismantle systemic and structural racism.
One way to learn more about our own deep response to "the Other" is to examine our implicit bias. These are the unconscious stereotypes and preferences that seep into our reactions and behaviors. Implicit biases are outside our awareness, and may even be at odds with what we believe to be our values and opinions. And because we are unaware of them, we may not even notice when they are affecting us.
Researchers at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington joined together to create Project Implicit to explore the subject. The project's goal is to educate the public and create a "virtual laboratory" for collecting data on implicit bias through Implicit Association Tests. You can take the Harvard Implicit Bias Test on race or on many other subjects here. I recommend that you try a few of the IATs. The results may surprise you.
On an individual level, for those of us who are consciously trying to push back against our racism, a first step is to learn about microaggressions. These are the everyday, subtle, intentional -- or sometimes unintentional -- behaviors that communicate our bias. When we act upon presumptions or assumptions about those we see as "Other," we commit microaggressions. Expecting our Black colleague to speak for all Blacks, to excel in certain activities, to worship in a particular kind of setting, or to enjoy particular foods are just a few examples of microaggressions.
In a recent episode of "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," Emmanuel Acho mentioned backhanded compliments as one of the most common microaggressions. "You're so articulate, for a Black person," or "You're so intelligent, for a Black person" are just two examples. You can fill in any descriptive. And sometimes the qualifier "for a Black person" is implied rather than spoken aloud. But spoken or not, the backhanded compliment is one of the ways that Whites consciously or unconsciously marginalize Blacks. When we pay attention to our own conversation, we can put a stop to backhanded compliments.
No matter how long we have been working on pushing back against our racism, we can always learn more. Today is a good day to spend a few minutes reading about microaggressions and how to address them. Dr. Derald Wing Sue is one of the leading experts on the subject. This chart, "Recognizing Microaggressions and the Messages They Send," is adapted from his work.You can also find more answers in this recent NPR interview transcript or in this June 5 article from CNN.
For now, know that you are not alone in either your racism or your efforts to fight against it. Let's not get bogged down in the fool's errand of identifying who among us is racist, but focus on doing everything we can to dismantle the systems of racism that surround us.
Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma
As individuals, we can be racist even if that is not our intention. We can even be racist even when we are affirmatively trying not to do so. We can be a committed anti-racist and still have occasional racist thoughts or feelings, or engage in racist behaviors. The sense of "Otherness" runs deep in us.
As I mentioned in my last post, the question isn't whether we are racist, but whether we feed and nurture our racism or we push back against it. I think of it like an addiction: we may not be able to erase it entirely, but we can be in conscious recovery for the rest of our life. And on the individual level, we who are White must be recovering racists if we are ever to dismantle systemic and structural racism.
One way to learn more about our own deep response to "the Other" is to examine our implicit bias. These are the unconscious stereotypes and preferences that seep into our reactions and behaviors. Implicit biases are outside our awareness, and may even be at odds with what we believe to be our values and opinions. And because we are unaware of them, we may not even notice when they are affecting us.
Researchers at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington joined together to create Project Implicit to explore the subject. The project's goal is to educate the public and create a "virtual laboratory" for collecting data on implicit bias through Implicit Association Tests. You can take the Harvard Implicit Bias Test on race or on many other subjects here. I recommend that you try a few of the IATs. The results may surprise you.
On an individual level, for those of us who are consciously trying to push back against our racism, a first step is to learn about microaggressions. These are the everyday, subtle, intentional -- or sometimes unintentional -- behaviors that communicate our bias. When we act upon presumptions or assumptions about those we see as "Other," we commit microaggressions. Expecting our Black colleague to speak for all Blacks, to excel in certain activities, to worship in a particular kind of setting, or to enjoy particular foods are just a few examples of microaggressions.
In a recent episode of "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," Emmanuel Acho mentioned backhanded compliments as one of the most common microaggressions. "You're so articulate, for a Black person," or "You're so intelligent, for a Black person" are just two examples. You can fill in any descriptive. And sometimes the qualifier "for a Black person" is implied rather than spoken aloud. But spoken or not, the backhanded compliment is one of the ways that Whites consciously or unconsciously marginalize Blacks. When we pay attention to our own conversation, we can put a stop to backhanded compliments.
No matter how long we have been working on pushing back against our racism, we can always learn more. Today is a good day to spend a few minutes reading about microaggressions and how to address them. Dr. Derald Wing Sue is one of the leading experts on the subject. This chart, "Recognizing Microaggressions and the Messages They Send," is adapted from his work.You can also find more answers in this recent NPR interview transcript or in this June 5 article from CNN.
For now, know that you are not alone in either your racism or your efforts to fight against it. Let's not get bogged down in the fool's errand of identifying who among us is racist, but focus on doing everything we can to dismantle the systems of racism that surround us.
Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma
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