Nothing Micro About Microaggressions
Everyday “small” racism has giant impact
I had the privilege of serving on a panel about unconscious bias recently in Denver, Colorado at a diverse member’s club. There’s an idea.
The discussion was open, honest and deep. About 50 people gathered in vulnerability to get “comfortable with being uncomfortable,” as Urban Leadership Foundation CEO Dr. Ryan Ross put it.
The phrases “unconscious bias” or “implicit bias” get thrown around a lot, but at their core, they are about how each of us behaves and reacts to situations in large part based on deep, unconscious beliefs we’ve been taught about a whole host of issues since our childhood. Relationships. Religion.
And yes, race and ethnicity.
Generations have been fed so many negative images of Black and so many positive images of white that we’ve developed deep feelings about these things in the unconscious part of our minds. And that’s where psychology experts say most of our decision-making happens. I’ve written about it before.
