Photo by Robina Weermeijer
I read something recently that I’m still not even sure how to describe.
It seemed sadly familiar. Or discouragingly common. Maybe those are the same thing? This was my response to a story told by a woman describing a day on the tennis court with her friends:
We were the only people on the courts when we started. After about an hour or so, a young black male with a hoodie pulled up over his head wearing baggy sweat pants came to the tennis courts and started walking the perimeter just outside of the fence where we were playing.
Although I don’t live in the development where I was playing tennis, I know there aren’t many people of color who live there. There was an immediate tension and distraction among the tennis players, and though no one said anything out loud, all turned their attention towards the hooded interloper. What is he doing here? He doesn’t belong here. Is he here to hurt us? Steal from us? Break into our cars?
I can only imagine what was going through everyone’s heads, because, sadly, these questions were going through mine. You see, I am a black female.
I paused.
I probably sat there for a few minutes trying to imagine the scene. And then I thought of the famous quote by Jesse Jackson that describes the fear of being robbed followed by the sudden relief of seeing a white person when you look over your shoulder.
To me, these aren’t stories of racism. They’re clear illustrations of implicit bias.
Implicit bias is meant to describe the thoughts and ideas we’re not even aware of. They can even be the subconscious thoughts we have that we would consciously disagree with. As it relates to racism it can be thought of as “what’s happening when, despite our best intentions and without our awareness, racial stereotypes and assumptions creep into our minds and affect our actions.”
But what does that really mean? That we have hidden beliefs we’re not aware of, even ones we would actively disagree with, and those beliefs can dictate our behavior? Do you believe that?
I believe it. And I also think we develop these biases without ever having to consciously do anything. We unknowingly absorb the ideas from the people and environment we’re surrounded by. And we get them from the cultural messaging we’re inundated with, as the messaging often includes racial undertones. Some describe it as analogous to smog. Sometimes it’s so thick that we can see it, but other times, it’s more hidden and can’t be seen. But it’s still there. And we’re still breathing it in. It’s in the news we consume, the movies we watch, the lessons we’re taught in school, the conversations we have with friends and families… It’s all around us.
And the effects of that messaging are real. It’s why some are surprised when Asian-Americans speak fluent English with no accent, even if they were born here. It’s why some unconsciously associate white with American and brown with immigrant. And it’s why some, including black people like Jesse Jackson and the tennis player, associate crime with black people. Even black police officers admit black men are treated differently and feared by law enforcement.
I’ve said before that we’re all biased. I think much of that bias is implicit, strengthened by cultural messaging. And that same messaging that can portray people of color negatively comes with a startling side effect. It tends to reflect and reinforce a pro-white sentiment. You might think that sounds presumptuous, but consider this.
Let’s pick a nice even number like 40 to represent age. Now, with as little thought as possible and with only a number to represent age, picture a white person. If you’re saying that requires stereotyping people, you are correct. And that’s the point. Because these stereotypes we hold are often the result of our implicit bias. So, if you’re willing, picture a 40-year-old white person. When you think of their appearance, their career, their educational experience, their home, what comes to mind? Now, do the same exercise for an Asian-American. And for an Indian-American. For a Black American. And lastly, a Mexican-American?
Did you imagine people of different genders? Why or why not? If you pictured everyone of the same gender, was it also the gender you identify with? Did you picture the Asian-American or Indian-American as successful, maybe even a doctor, while the Black American or Mexican-American has a job less prestigious? If so, that might be explained by the model minority myth.
What about the first person you pictured, the white person? How do they compare to the black person you pictured when it comes to their appearance, career, education, their home? You may not have pictured a black person with “bad” qualities but could it be that you pictured a white person with comparatively “better” qualities? Does anything change if you use a different age?
The exercise isn’t to try and prove you have racist thoughts. After all, as much as I’d love to know what you thought, I’ll never know. It’s to try and make us aware of our implicit bias, not racism, by considering the thoughts that immediately come to mind without any conscious effort.
The scariest component with implicit bias is that it can remain hidden and undetected. And if we’re never aware of them, it’s entirely possible that these associations can conflict with our openly-held beliefs and opinions that we publicly endorse. No one is exempt from implicit bias. We all have them. A study even found that approximately 40% of first and second year medical students surveyed said they believe black people have physically thicker skin than white people. A false belief like that might sound harmless and trivial, but it’s not. It influences the assessment and management of pain in black patients, often resulting in different care than white patients. And these are doctors! Even smart, qualified doctors are still capable of having false beliefs.
Similarly, countless studies have tried to examine if two resumes with identical skills, education, and experience result in equal responses from employers when they differ in one simple way, the person’s name. Sadly, most of the results are the same. Resumes with foreign or black sounding names don’t get nearly as many call-backs as resumes with white sounding names.
Do you think the resume screeners are aware of their difference in treatment solely based on someone’s name? Isn’t it likely, if they were asked, they would say they would never disregard a resume or treat someone differently based on their name? So, where does this come from?
Ok, here’s one last example, one I find absolutely fascinating. Consider this question:
Out of every 100 people living in the United States of America, how many do you think were born outside of the United States of America?
What would you say?
According to one study from the 2000s, the average person said 28. They really thought about 1 in every 4 people were born somewhere else and immigrated here? The real answer was 12.
But that study was over 10 years old. Does that describe what current Americans think? It turns out, no. Another study from 2018 found the Americans surveyed actually thought 36% were immigrants! What?! More than 1 in every 3 people living in the United States of America are immigrants!? The actual answer in 2018 was 10%. I’m not sure if people know the definition of immigrant. Even when including unauthorized immigrants for 2018, the number is roughly 14%. And just like how overall immigration has been declining for some time, so too has the number of unauthorized immigrants.
Does any of that surprise you? What was your percentage for immigrants in America? Does the number you came up with hold true when you think of the people around you that you know?
We can’t deny these biases or allow them to go unchecked, especially if we don’t want them to reveal themselves in our actions. Because if we’re capable of believing such false beliefs, how are we to believe that they are incapable of influencing us to do things we think we would never do. Things like calling the cops on black people for napping in a dorm or grilling in a park or sitting in a Starbucks. The men at the Starbucks in Philadelphia got arrested for it, by the way.
So what are we to do? Can we ever get rid of these biases? Or will they always be present?
Personally, I don’t think we can ever truly get rid of them. And that stems from the idea that implicit bias refers to ideas and thoughts we’re not even aware of. So how can we ever know that we’ve truly identified all of them within us, must less confirmed that we’ve gotten rid of them?
But what I would say is that a good first step is, as with just about everything, to simply be aware of implicit bias, its existence and impact. And maybe to read and get educated on the topic.
Another step that always helps is to interact with others who aren’t like us. Getting to know others always humanizes a group that we typically describe with a stereotype, and we can even dispel those stereotypes when we get to know someone who actually conflicts with them.
Lastly, you can check out Project Implicit, which many consider the leading resource when it comes to implicit biases. They have developed many implicit association tests (IATs), and, if you’re really feeling bold, you can check out one of their race IATs or their Native IAT.
But be warned. Your results might surprise you.
“Our minds automatically justify our decisions, blinding us to the true source, or beliefs, behind our decisions. Ultimately, we believe our decisions are consistent with our conscious beliefs, when in fact, our unconscious is running the show.” – Howard Ross