Biased

Growing up in predominately white spaces shaped how I imagined the world. When I read a book, the characters I pictured in my head were white. When I listened to the radio station, I saw a white DJ or NPR reporter in my mind’s eye. Even now, in my mid-40s, I catch myself falling back into those earlier biases unthinkingly, even though my life experiences, friends, and the books I read have broadened my imagination away from white as the default.

Although I’ve delved into many non-fiction books about antiracism in the past year, I had not yet picked up Biased by Dr. Jennifer L Eberhardt. She gives an overview of the different situations in our society where implicit bias perpetuates inequalities in education and criminal justice. She describes implicit bias as “a kind of distorting lens that’s a product of both the architecture of our brain and the disparities in our society.” She also writes how bias is “not something we exhibit and act on all the time. It is conditional, and the battle begins by understanding the conditions under which it is most likely to come alive.”

Even though she’s a researcher, she’s also a mother of three Black sons. Throughout the book, Eberhardt also includes personal stories of how their observations of social situations sparked both her curiosity and fear.

Reading this book also reminded me of another tool available through Project Implicit. You can test your own implicit attitudes about age, race, sexuality, and more. With self-awareness, we can begin to reset our defaults.

Challenge 2: Read a non-fiction book about antiracism