Tamber Bustance: Unintentional Bias

“Stop trying to be good people.” It is only human to be biased. However, the problem begins when we allow our bigotry to manifest into an obstacle that hinders us from genuinely getting to know people. Long time diversity lawyer, Verna Myers, in her 2014 Ted Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them” discusses the implicit biases we may obtain when it comes to race, specifically black men. Myers purpose is quite like the cliché phrase “Face your fears.” Her goal is to impress upon us that we all have biases (conscious or unconscious). We just have to be aware of them and face them head on, so that problems such as racism, can be resolved. Throughout the Ted Talk, Verna Myers utilizes an admonishing yet entertaining tone in

“Stop trying to be good people.” It is only human to be biased. However, the problem begins when we allow our bigotry to manifest into an obstacle that hinders us from genuinely getting to know people. Long time diversity lawyer, Verna Myers, in her 2014 Ted Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them” discusses the implicit biases we may obtain when it comes to race, specifically black men. Myers purpose is quite like the cliché phrase “Face your fears.” Her goal is to impress upon us that we all have biases (conscious or unconscious). We just have to be aware of them and face them head on, so that problems such as racism, can be resolved. Throughout the Ted Talk, Verna Myers utilizes an admonishing

A speaker earns the right for his or her voice to be heard through the power of ethos, logos, and pathos. In the TED Talk “Color blind or color brave?” Mellody Hobson speaks about her experiences, states facts, and connects with the audience. Throughout her presentation, Hobson mainly addresses the events she has gone through as a woman of color. She informs the crowd about the difference of the terms color blind and color brave. She’s very open about the topic of race and believes it should be talked about, even if it is uncomfortable. Not speaking about race ignores continues issues that still happen today and can even create more problems. Mellody has the right to speak about the topic and capture the audience's attention because she gives her life experiences and factual information all while doing it in a non conflicting manner. Her open mindedness and passion are shown as she speaks.

With almost no first hand experiences with people of color growing up, I quickly internalized the three myths that maintain the invisible veil of white supremacy in our culture. When I did have experiences with people of color, they often fit the stereotypes our culture has assigned to them and reinforced my confirmation bias and pity in believing that people of color are responsible for the disadvantaged state they’re in. While I don’t mean to say my parents or I haven’t worked hard to get where we are, they instilled in me the myth of meritocracy and made me believe that hard work unequivocally leads to success. This went hand in hand with thee myths of fair treatment and equal opportunity; they had always just seemed like truths to me because I rarely got first hand experiences with people of color in my childhood. I never questioned these myths and went on to believe them until this class when we discussed how my privileged status as a white man gave me the upper hand over people of

In Vernā Myers’ TED Talk “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly towards them,” originally presented at TEDxBeaconStreet, diversity advocate Myers argues that peoples’ subconscious attitudes are affecting the prospering of black people in society. She also proposes three ideas on how to overcome our biases, which will open a world of possibilities where everyone no matters his or her ethnicity or race has equal opportunities to succeed in this constantly changing environment. According to Myers, the first step to overcome our prejudices is to acknowledge the biases that subconsciously influence our attitudes towards black people. According to Myers, “our default is white,” this demonstrates that people are more likely to trust white people

Most of the discussion dealt with historical overview on slavery and how it pertained to today’s society. The audience was reminded early on in the discussion that race does exist in its consequences and that we must not overlook those consequences. The speaker at this portion of the discussion was a woman who seemed extremely fond of her topic. Her gestures and speech inflections were much exaggerated to the point where it almost drew attention away from her topic. It was just ironic to me how a Caucasian woman could speak with such “emotion” when she was never herself enslaved!

What does “race” mean to you? How does your race affect your life? Are races really so different? You might answer these questions differently after visiting the RACE exhibit at the Museum of Natural Sciences. From understanding skin color to examining how systematic racism impacts minorities today, this exhibit is incredibly inclusive and eye-opening. One of our favorite interactive components was an activity in which you listen to a person talking and try to determine his or her race. It was very interesting because it forces you to face any misconceptions you may have about how a person of a certain race “should” sound. We all performed poorly at identifying the speakers, which caused us to inflect on our own stereotypical thoughts. The

Tim Wise’s lecture was very interesting and made me see a side to race that I haven’t seen before. Many things stood out to me throughout his lecture, one being his perspective on why the slogan now and days is “black lives matter” instead of “all lives matter.” He made the point that being white and have white lives matter is the norm for many but when it come to black people they are felt as being outside the norm. One thing that could be done to join these races together is finding a way to change it for “black lives matter” to “all lives matter.

Additionally, the showcase united a community during one of the most divisive moments in its history. It wonderfully conveyed racial inequality to provide everyone in attendance an opportunity to understand the subject, even if they did not directly consociate. Understanding racial inequality is a hard concept to convey to a diverse crowd because a majority of those in attendance have not experienced it themselves. The purpose of this showcase was not so much to address racial injustice to a minority crowd, but rather educate the

During this time more than ever, African Americans are able to speak on subjects that can affect us in the future. Growing up, racial profiling was never a big deal to me or my family. I was taught to never judge someone by how they look but upon their actions. Ironic to think that is how one is taught to act but stereotypes are now bigger than ever right? Being a high school student I never payed much attention to anything outside of sports, academics and what crazy adventure me and my friends would be sucked into the upcoming weekend. I didn’t have an opinion when surveys asked if I felt that I wasn't being treated equally to my fellow American classmate with all the same qualities I held. Race itself was never something I viewed another

Tomi Tunrarebi, an alumni of Monte Vista High School, wrote a narrative essay all about her experiences of stereotypes. She writes, “Lexi and I go out to eat out in Walnut Creek...I’m immediately met with harsh eyes of an old white lady...I can see the word clearly in her eyes: nigger” (Tunrarebi 2). This further adds on to the problem of society today: some people still holding strong prejudices against people of color. They haven’t realized today’s society is way different from in the past, and those people haven’t changed their opinions at all. Furthermore, the people resist the change because they like the current racism, which in and of itself, is

In conclusion, this was my favorite observation because I took more away from it than my previous ones. Speaking with Ms. Tomlin made me realize that there may be an equal population in one place, but not in another. I know she must of felt uncomfortable at times. It was really nice to have to step outside of my comfort zone. This observation will help me as an educator if I have minority students. It will better help me understand how they may be feeling so that I may reach out to them. In the future, I want to include more people of different races or religions into my daily

Through the reading of Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development and A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota I have not only learned about the experiences of others, but have also gained a deeper understanding of my own racial and cultural identity and how that relates to other identities around me. In learning this information, I feel that I will not only be able to understand and relate better to my future students, but also understand their backgrounds and how they are affecting them presently. Therefore, I will be able to teach to individuals in the way they need me to, but also create a more welcoming and inclusive environment (racially, culturally, and otherwise) in my future classroom. The information I have read has helped me to understand my own racial and cultural identity, how it relates to the identities of my future students, and what I can do to make educational institutions more racially and culturally inclusive.

This was a presentation that everyone can get something out of whether you are white, black, hispanic, and much more. I learned that it is important to have conversations that make you feel uncomfortable and weird. It is crucial that we talk about these issues especially racism because we live in a world that needs to be reminded of its past. Our society tries to run away from slavery by saying it's been illegal for hundreds of years, but we live with the consequences of slavery.

I realized that racism really is an issue of self-learning. Racism is unfortunately very deeply rooted, and we have to actively acknowledge there is a problem with our logic, find our motives, and learn. Roberts gave an example of a time he was asked to proofread a textbook for young students. Part of the book said something along the lines of, “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a wonderful leader for African Americans.” This wasn’t written with bad intentions, but this phrase subtly suggests to young minds that Martin Luther King, Jr. is only a leader to the African American population, and might not be one to them if they are of another race. Roberts’ speech showed me that often young children are subconsciously learning to put races in different boxes. These ideas become myths that we as adults believe and allow to cloud our thoughts of others. It is our job then, as a people who want to end racism, to deconstruct these myths and learn to see clearly. This visual that Roberts offered the crowd really stood out to me and helped me understand his perspective of racism and how deeply rooted it really