Unpacking and Transforming Your Biases For A Better Community | Denise Hernandez | TEDxSanAntonio
Summary
TLDRThe speaker recounts a transformative leadership workshop that challenged their preconceptions and fostered camaraderie among diverse students. They delve into implicit biases, citing the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and its revelations about unconscious attitudes. The talk explores how these biases manifest in employment, education, and criminal justice, using examples like the 'resume experiment' and teacher biases. The speaker advocates for awareness and action against systemic oppression, urging individuals to confront their biases and hold leaders accountable for change.
Takeaways
- 🎓 Early experiences, such as a leadership workshop, can challenge perceptions and foster unexpected camaraderie among diverse groups of individuals.
- 🤔 Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that affect our understanding and behavior, often contradicting our declared beliefs.
- 📊 The Implicit Association Test (IAT) helps to uncover our unconscious biases, which can be surprising and unsettling but are crucial for self-awareness.
- 🏢 Employment discrimination is prevalent, with studies showing that white applicants are often favored over equally qualified applicants of color.
- 🏫 Teachers' biases can significantly impact students, with research indicating that they may spend more time interacting with male students and prompt them to think more deeply.
- 👮♂️ Racial biases in the criminal justice system lead to disproportionate targeting and use of force against people of color, contributing to systemic oppression.
- 🔍 Recognizing and confronting our individual biases is the first step towards dismantling systemic oppression and promoting equality.
- 🌐 Community engagement and cultural understanding are key to breaking down barriers and fostering a more inclusive society.
- 🌟 Individual empowerment and the pursuit of self-improvement can contribute to broader societal change, even in the face of deeply ingrained prejudices.
- 🌈 Embracing diversity and learning from one another can lead to personal growth and positive social impact, as demonstrated by the speaker's experiences in San Antonio.
Q & A
What was the purpose of the leadership workshop attended by the speaker?
-The purpose of the leadership workshop was to bring together a diverse group of students to participate in team-building activities and share stories, ultimately challenging their perceptions of each other and fostering a sense of camaraderie.
How did the speaker's experience at the leadership workshop change their perspective on their peers?
-The speaker's experience at the workshop challenged their initial skepticism about the diverse group of students being leaders. It led to a breakthrough moment where they realized the shared humanity and struggles among the students, which helped shape their life and passion for reaching out to others beyond superficial judgments.
What is an implicit bias, and how does it affect our understanding?
-Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that affect our understanding and behavior without our conscious knowledge. These biases can influence our actions and decisions in both positive and negative ways, often contradicting our declared beliefs.
What is the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and why was it created?
-The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a psychological test designed by Dr. Anthony Greenwald and colleagues to measure the strength of a person's automatic preferences for one thing over another. It was created to better understand how unconscious attitudes may differ from our conscious beliefs and to reveal disconnects between them.
How does implicit bias manifest in the job market according to the script?
-Implicit bias in the job market can lead to discrimination where applicants with white-sounding names receive more callbacks and interview opportunities than those with names perceived as belonging to racial minorities, even when qualifications are identical.
What is the school-to-prison pipeline, and how does it relate to implicit bias?
-The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the policies and practices that push children and youth from schools into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. It is related to implicit bias as teachers' unconscious biases can lead to disproportionately harsh treatment and lower expectations for students of color, which can contribute to their involvement with the criminal justice system.
How do racial biases affect the outcomes of police interactions as mentioned in the script?
-Racial biases can lead to quicker and more frequent use of force against black individuals compared to white individuals during police interactions. This bias is evident in studies showing that black targets are shot more quickly and often than white targets.
What steps can individuals take to combat implicit biases according to the speaker?
-Individuals can combat implicit biases by understanding and confronting their own biases, which can start with taking an implicit attitude test. Dismantling these biases requires ongoing, conscious effort and holding oneself and others accountable.
Why does the speaker consider themselves a 'realistic optimist'?
-The speaker considers themselves a 'realistic optimist' because, despite acknowledging the likelihood that prejudices like racism and sexism may never be completely eradicated, they remain hopeful and inspired by the impact of individual empowerment and the potential for positive change.
How does the speaker's love for San Antonio influence their perspective on community and diversity?
-The speaker's love for San Antonio is rooted in a mission larger than themselves and is influenced by the city's unique blend of beauty and diversity. They believe that by looking past personal comfort and limits, individuals can learn from each other, seek change, and make a real positive impact within their communities.
Outlines
🤔 Leadership Workshop Experience
The speaker recounts a pivotal experience in middle school where they were selected to attend a leadership workshop, which initially seemed like an opportunity to skip school. The day involved diverse students in team-building exercises, leading to a profound moment of shared vulnerability and understanding. This event challenged the speaker's preconceptions about their peers and fostered unexpected friendships, highlighting the power of such experiences to shape one's perspective and passion for connecting with others beyond superficial judgments. The narrative segues into a broader discussion on implicit biases, introducing the Implicit Association Test (IAT) developed by Dr. Anthony Greenwald, which reveals unconscious attitudes that can diverge from our professed beliefs.
🌐 Tackling Systemic Bias and Inequality
The second paragraph delves into the pervasive impact of implicit bias on societal structures such as employment, education, and criminal justice. It cites the example of Jose Zamora, whose job prospects improved significantly after changing his name to sound less Hispanic, illustrating the insidious nature of racial bias in hiring practices. The paragraph also addresses the 'school-to-prison pipeline,' highlighting how children from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately affected by systemic issues that intertwine crime, poverty, and educational shortcomings. The speaker emphasizes the need for awareness and action to dismantle systemic oppression, advocating for individual empowerment and collective responsibility to effect change. The narrative concludes with a call for realistic optimism, recognizing the ongoing struggle against prejudice while celebrating the potential for positive impact through understanding and empathy.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Leadership Workshop
💡Implicit Biases
💡Implicit Association Test (IAT)
💡Systemic Oppression
💡School-to-Prison Pipeline
💡Criminal Justice
💡Racial Bias
💡Accountability
💡Cultural Festivals
💡Community Leaders
💡Realistic Optimist
Highlights
Selected for a leadership workshop as a pre-teen, the speaker was initially skeptical about the diverse group of attendees.
Team building activities revealed unexpected connections and shared experiences among the workshop participants.
A powerful moment of solidarity was experienced when participants shared personal stories of abuse.
The workshop led to lasting camaraderie and changed perceptions among the attendees.
Implicit biases were discussed as unconscious attitudes that can affect our understanding in both positive and negative ways.
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was introduced as a tool to understand our unconscious attitudes.
The speaker's IAT results revealed an opposite attitude to the majority, challenging common biases.
Discrimination in hiring was illustrated through the story of Jose Zamora, highlighting the impact of names on job opportunities.
Studies show that white applicants with criminal records are more likely to be hired than black applicants without records.
Economists have found a 14% favor for white applicants over Latino applicants, indicating systemic bias in employment.
Gender bias in education was discussed, with teachers spending more time speaking to and prompting male students.
Children of color are adversely affected by teacher biases, contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline.
The speaker shared a heartbreaking story of a child who was told by teachers that he would end up in jail.
Items mistaken as weapons by police officers were highlighted, leading to serious injury or death of unarmed victims.
Racial bias studies show that black targets are shot more quickly and often than white targets.
The speaker calls for understanding and confronting our individual biases as a first step towards change.
Accountability of elected officials, community leaders, and ourselves is emphasized in dismantling systemic oppression.
The speaker identifies as a realistic optimist, acknowledging the long-term challenge of eradicating prejudices.
The importance of individual empowerment and self-improvement in the context of community and societal change is discussed.
The speaker's love for San Antonio and its diverse, beautiful community is expressed, highlighting the city's potential for positive impact.
Transcripts
[Music]
hi good
morning when I was in the eth grade I
was selected by teachers and
administrators to leave class for the
day to attend a leadership Workshop as a
pre-teen I was naturally pretty excited
to miss class all day no matter the
reason on the morning of the Class Clown
couple gang members athletes smart kids
and other kids I had never spoken to
before boarded the bus alongside me I
was immediately very skeptical how were
any of these kids leaders for that
matter how was I one through the course
of the day we were separated into
various team building activities where
we shared stories and laughed toward the
end of the workshop we were asked to
stand in a single line
shoulder-to-shoulder if you like pizza
please take a step forward we all took
our step progressively the questions got
more and more difficult if you or if
anyone you know has ever been abused
please take a step forward when a few
Brave kids took their step the room went
silent one of the most popular kids in
my class stood forward and he later
began crying a gang member stood forward
and kids I had never even spoken to
before stood forward we comforted each
other and allowed the space to teach us
following that day those of us who
attended the workshop shared a special
kind of camaraderie we said hi to each
other in the Halls helped each other in
class and formed relationships that we
wouldn't have made possible
otherwise this was the first major
breakthrough moment for me me when that
challenged my perceptions of the people
I was surrounded by every single day and
this one day ultimately helped shape my
life and f a passion to reach others
beyond the
surface so most of us will not generally
admit that we are prejudiced in any way
we think I'm a good person and good
people aren't prejudiced but the fact
remains every single person in this room
and Beyond holds implicit biases or
different ideals attitudes and
stereotypes that affect our
understanding completely unconsciously
in both positive and negative
ways often our declared beliefs don't
reflect our implicit biases doeski wrote
there are things which a man is afraid
to admit even to himself and every
decent man has a number of such things
stored away in his mind the implicit
attitude test was created by by social
psychologist Dr Anthony Greenwald and
his colleagues to better understand our
unconscious attitudes and how they how
they disconnect from our uh our
conscious ones so the iats are time
tests that set positive and negative
associations in different categories
such as age weight gender sexual
orientation and race so let's take a
look at my example at my results for an
example so 75% of people who take the
white black race IAT result that they
have more favorable feelings for white
people over black people I happen to be
in the minority that has an opposite
attitude and while these tests are
shocking and often upsetting what they
reveal is a critical base understanding
for where we fit in Broad Community
Solutions so I'm going to overview some
of our most basic social Necessities
employment education and criminal
justice so maybe you've seen the viral
YouTube video about a man named Jose
Zamora and he applied for hundreds of
jobs on Craigslist and he was UN
successful in receiving any call backs
he decided to remove one letter from his
name applied to the same jobs with the
same exact resume a week later
Joe was receiving call backs and
interview opportunities like none he'd
seen before and this sort of
discrimination happens more often than
we realize sociologist David peder's
hiring AIT audit experiments show that
those applicants white applicants who
say that they have a criminal record are
more likely to be hired the comparable
black applicants with no criminal record
and furthermore black applicants with a
criminal record are only hired for 5% of
the
time economists also study these results
and they have found a 14% favor for
white applicants over Latino applicants
so despite similar skill sets and
experience minorities have a harder time
finding job opportunities and these
employers most likely don't recognize
that they are perpetrators of their own
implicit
biases knowledge is power but what
happens when teachers don't recognize
their own implicit biases before
interacting with teachers and and with
their students in the
classroom Dr Myra and David Sader are
leading experts of gender bias and
education and they've studied teacher
biases for decades and hours of
classroom observation and they found
that teachers spent up to two-thirds of
their time speaking to their male
students and are more likely to allow
their male students to speak over their
female students furthermore teachers
prompt boys to think deeper while girls
are praised for being quiet children of
color are absolutely adversely affected
by their teachers biases in a
heartbreaking story in a series by the
New York Times one young man eie Banks
tells the story of a child he mentored
and the young child asks his mentor is
jail a good place to be his me he asked
because his dad was in jail and it was
somewhere he could get food and not be
hungry and it was a place where at 5
years old his teachers told him he would
end up I hear heartbreaking similar
stories from kids I work with all the
time the school to prison pipeline
continues to work against poor often
lcolor communities where crime poverty
and failing school syst systems
intersect we see what happens when we
fail to care for our children's needs
inside of the classroom and outside in
their communities and
neighborhoods so I want you to take a
second and look at this slide and think
to yourself how are all of these items
related okay now I'm going to tell you
so they're actually all related because
they've been mistaken as Weapons by
police officers and these quick
judgments ultimately led to Serious
injury or death of the unarmed
victims the stere stereotype that of
color adults and children are both less
innocent and more aggressive is seen
when in racial bi studies when black
targets are shot more quickly and more
often than white Targets in 2015 alone
Latinos were the second largest group
killed by La enforcement and overall
Native Americans are killed at a faster
rate than any other race or ethnicity I
would love to live in a world where I
could Proclaim all lives matter and know
it to be a reality in every sense in our
communities and our everyday
interactions and absolutely in our
school and Judicial Systems but that is
not the truth and not by a long shot so
how did we get to this place research
suggests in every day small interactions
we make decisions based on our implicit
biases and these small decisions add up
over time and form patterns and
perpetuate systemic
oppression again we like to believe
we're good people who treat others
equally but the disconnect is very real
so how do become the good people we hope
to be and think we are well first we
must understand our individual biases
and confront them headon and this can
begin with an implicit um attitude test
but dismantling them takes explicit
everyday work to change systemic uh
oppression we can begin with holding
accountability of our elected officials
of our community leaders and absolutely
of ourselves and each other we have so
much work to do and so many footsteps to
follow
so I like to consider myself a realistic
Optimist and I know that sounds like an
oxymoron but I'm not naive in my
understanding that we may never get rid
of racism sexism agism or most other
prejudicial isms and especially not in
this lifetime but I do see the impact of
individual empowerment every single day
and how understanding ourselves helps us
better understand and appreciate each
other while the research about our
implicit biases is relatively new it
shouldn't take science to teach us that
we should always be working on making
ourselves better and helping others in
the
process as an indigenous San Antonio
Chana my love for this city is boundless
and rooted in a mission so much larger
than myself I have seen some of the best
of the city and the worst from all five
spurge championships um yeah cultural
Revival and economic boom to political
corruption police brutality and
gentrification
our communities are so uniquely
beautiful and diverse we can go out and
meet people from all over the world
while still running into old friends
from our
Ros when we begin to look past ourselves
our comfortability and our limits both
unconscious as not is when we can begin
to learn from each other seek each other
change ourselves and make real positive
impact we can attend multitudes of
cultural festivals goia the night away
enjoy bak and big red in a family own
restaurant visit worldclass museums and
enjoy coffee with our city
leaders the world is watching what
better place than here and what better
time than now thank you
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