I Am Part of the Problem. Are you?

Apparently I have a strong preference for white people over black people. 

Anyway, that is what the test that I just took says.  It's called the Implicit Association Test (IAT), from Harvard University.

Imagine my dismay when I got the result.

By the way, you should take it too: click here (make sure you select "Race IAT" on the second page). 

Behavioral scientists call this effect Implicit Bias.  It is pervasive.  It is impactful.  

It is like we are a fish and not even aware of the water we are swimming in.  In fact we probably don't think that we are even swimming in water.  

Here is a table showing over 3,000,000 test results - from the same test that I took.


All of these folks (me included, apparently) are making day to day decisions that are probably biased.  Unconsciously biased.  

Whom to promote.  Whom to give a business opportunity.  Whom to give that stock tip. 

A police officer, making split second decision on whether to shoot.

A hiring manager, evaluating a candidate with a "black sounding name" to bring in for an interview (click here).

Why would an African American person want to go into any of these transactions, knowing that most people don't have a preference for his race?

Awareness
The first step to solving any problem is awareness that the problem exists.  Hopefully we've accomplished at least that much so far.

You now are aware that it is very likely that you are biased against black people (assuming you are white).  If you are unsure, you should take the test.  But in the meantime, you should presume that you are.   Naturally biased.  From birth.  

It's not your fault, you need to get over that.

But to continue as if this bias doesn't exist (now that you are aware of it), it will become your fault.

What can I do?
You have been given a cerebral cortex at birth.  This is the part of your brain responsible for logic and higher thought processes. You'll need to use it to consciously override any of the instincts you have developed as a result of being raised in a biased society.
 
Don't say "I am not a racist" - because you probably are implicitly influenced by racism to some degree.  It is up to you to be introspective enough to find that bias and try to counter it.

Don't say "all lives matter" in response to "black lives matter" - factually it is true that all lives do matter but now you know it is a false equivalency.  When folks say "black lives matter" they are saying, in part, "get a grip on the bias against blacks that most white people have."

Don't try to ascribe blame solely to blacks for their high unemployment or murder rate (or any number of other statistics). The interrelationship between personal accountability and systemic bias regarding people of color is far too complex to try to ascribe blame.  

However, there is a very important caveat.  It is essential that society continues to hold people accountable for their actions, despite this built-in bias.  Black or white.  Nobody should be let off the hook for committing a crime for example.  And, an unemployed person, black or white, must continue to take the initiative to become employed.  Otherwise, the racist effects will accelerate.  

It is up to all of us to fix the system, to recognize the implicit biases that we each have and to do what we can to counteract them.

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