Moving Beyond Implicit Bias | Lisa Johnson | TEDxLewisUniversity
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares a personal journey of confronting and overcoming unconscious bias, sparked by an incident at an airport. Growing up in a diverse environment, the speaker initially felt no sense of exclusion. However, negative travel experiences led to adopting a defensive travel demeanor, avoiding social interaction to prevent potential bias encounters. A pivotal moment came when the speaker realized their own bias was causing them to reject genuine connections with others. This realization prompted a change in behavior, accepting invitations and engaging more openly with people from different cultures. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of setting a good example to move beyond bias and fostering understanding and acceptance.
Takeaways
- 💡 We all have unconscious biases that conflict with our conscious values, often without realizing it.
- ✈️ The speaker shares a personal experience at an airport where she encountered bias and felt marginalized, highlighting the emotional impact of such moments.
- 🧠 Unconscious bias can develop early in life, but the speaker did not experience it until she began traveling and noticed it in professional environments.
- 👀 To avoid conflict, the speaker adopted a strategy of isolation during travel, using headphones and books as shields to protect herself from potential bias.
- 🌍 A career opportunity for global travel led the speaker to reconsider her defensive habits and face the possibility of encountering racial prejudice abroad.
- 🎯 After reflecting on her own biases, the speaker realized she had been rejecting meaningful social invitations due to her unconscious fears.
- 🤝 She decided to make a conscious effort to change, accepting invitations and forming deeper relationships with people from different cultures.
- 👁 The speaker started re-engaging with the world, making eye contact and allowing herself to connect with others, rather than using her defenses.
- 🔁 While negative experiences still occur, the speaker strives to take the high road, not allowing a few bad encounters to shape her view of others.
- 🏆 Setting a good example and continuously educating others through actions is key to overcoming unconscious bias and fostering understanding.
Q & A
What is unconscious or implicit bias?
-Unconscious or implicit bias refers to the automatic, subconscious beliefs or attitudes we hold about different groups that may not align with our conscious values.
How did the speaker experience bias during their travel at the airport?
-The speaker was in line to board a first-class flight when a man confidently placed his boarding pass over hers, disregarding her presence. This action triggered feelings of bias, particularly as she was the only Black person in line.
What past experiences influenced the speaker's reaction to the man at the airport?
-The speaker's reaction was influenced by stories her parents shared about civil rights and segregation, which caused her to perceive the man's action as a deeper insult tied to racial inequality.
What conflict did the speaker face during her travels, and how did she handle it?
-The speaker often felt a conflict between staying engaged with others and avoiding potential confrontations due to bias. To cope, she adopted a strategy of conflict avoidance by avoiding eye contact and engaging minimally with people during travel.
What changed the speaker’s travel experience from enjoyment to avoidance?
-The speaker shifted from being a curious and engaging traveler to avoiding interactions due to her experiences with implicit bias, especially when flying with higher boarding groups and interacting with certain men.
What was the turning point for the speaker’s journey in overcoming her own unconscious bias?
-The turning point came when the speaker realized she was declining invitations from colleagues and avoiding social connections due to her own unconscious bias. This moment of self-awareness led her to decide to make changes.
How did the speaker decide to change her behavior after realizing her own unconscious bias?
-The speaker decided to start accepting invitations, extending invitations to others, making eye contact, and re-engaging with people during her travels instead of using protective barriers like headphones and books.
What role does emotion play in managing unconscious bias, according to the speaker?
-The speaker believes that emotions, including negative ones like regret, need to be acknowledged, managed, and then used to make positive changes. For her, regret over missed opportunities drove her to change her behavior.
What lesson does the speaker emphasize regarding interactions and unconscious bias?
-The speaker emphasizes that by our behaviors and actions, we are always educating others. We can either reinforce someone’s unconscious bias or challenge it by showing them something different.
How did the speaker handle the situation with the man at the airport after he tried to board ahead of her?
-The speaker stayed calm, allowing the gate attendant to resolve the situation by confirming that she belonged in the first-class boarding group as well. The man left without a word, and she proceeded to board.
Outlines
✈️ Overcoming Bias in Travel
The speaker shares an experience at an airport where a man aggressively placed his boarding pass over hers while boarding a first-class flight. This interaction triggers deep emotions, reminding her of the history of civil rights struggles and segregation, though she acknowledges she hasn't personally faced such hardships. Her parents' stories of segregation resonate, and the incident feels like a personal affront. This moment marks the beginning of her journey to confront and move beyond her own unconscious biases.
🌍 The Challenges of Global Perceptions
The speaker reflects on taking a global travel project despite fears of racial prejudice, which were confirmed by her supervisor's direct question about handling discrimination. She decides to maintain professionalism and politeness while keeping a protective barrier. However, during a trip, she declines invitations to dinner from colleagues, revealing her unconscious bias and fear of not being welcomed. This realization marks a turning point, as she recognizes the inconsistency between her actions and her values, leading her to question whether her self-imposed barriers have caused her to miss valuable experiences.
🤝 Embracing Change and Connection
The speaker acknowledges her regret for missed opportunities to connect with others due to her unconscious bias. She decides to make changes, accepting invitations and building meaningful relationships. She shifts her approach during travel, engaging more with people and shedding the protective behaviors that had isolated her. This transformation allows her to experience richer interactions, moving away from her prior avoidance. She stresses the importance of managing emotions like regret and making conscious efforts to change negative behaviors in order to live authentically and fully.
🎭 Navigating Negative Situations with Dignity
Reflecting on the airport incident, the speaker highlights how she handled the situation with grace, avoiding confrontation while the gate attendant supported her. She acknowledges that not all situations go her way, and she will sometimes express displeasure or even file complaints when necessary. However, she strives to set a positive example. The speaker touches on the fatigue many people of color feel in being the 'educator' for others regarding race and bias. She believes that, knowingly or unknowingly, we are all constantly educating others through our actions, and setting a good example helps break down unconscious biases in society.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Unconscious Bias
💡Segregation
💡Civil Rights
💡Conflict Avoidance
💡Implicit Bias
💡Regret
💡Resilience
💡Representation
💡Cultural Exchange
💡Emotional Management
Highlights
Unconscious bias is an inherent belief about different groups that contradicts our conscious values.
Implicit bias can be recognized through personal experiences, such as the author's encounter at an airport.
The author's parents' stories about segregation provide a historical context for understanding bias.
Unconscious bias can start in early years and be reinforced through experiences.
The author's upbringing in a diverse environment contrasts with later experiences of bias.
Conflict avoidance was the author's initial reaction to bias, leading to a change in travel behavior.
An invitation for a global travel project prompted the author to confront their own unconscious bias.
The author's strategy of being professional and polite was a way to protect themselves from bias.
A moment of self-reflection led the author to realize their own unconscious bias was affecting their actions.
The author recognized the inconsistency between their actions and their values.
The author decided to make changes to overcome their unconscious bias.
Accepting invitations and extending them was part of the author's strategy to combat bias.
The author stopped using avoidance tactics like not making eye contact during travel.
The author emphasizes the importance of not letting a few negative experiences define one's view of an entire group.
In a tense airport situation, the author chose the high road and let the situation resolve without conflict.
The author discusses the fatigue of being the 'educator' for one's race due to being the only representative.
The author suggests that everyone educates others through their behaviors and actions.
Setting a good example is key to moving beyond bias, according to the author.
The desire for understanding and acceptance is a universal human need.
Transcripts
[Music]
we all have bias you probably have heard
that statement before
the fact is we all have unconscious
beliefs about different groups
and they are inconsistent with our
conscious values it's also called
implicit bias
but if it is indeed unconscious
how do we get past it
i was in an airport a while back and the
gate attendant called for first class to
board
as a leadership trainer i log a lot of
air miles and so it isn't uncommon for
me to fly first class i fell into line
like i normally do single file heading
to the gate attendant boarding pass in
hand
extended it to her went off to the side
a man who had been waiting against the
wall
strode over
and placed his boarding pass over
mine
i mean right
i'm sure for many of you
that would have earned that man your
best glare wouldn't it
i mean probably the real sideare right
but for many of you as it did for me
it might have struck an even deeper
court
if you have any frame of reference to
civil rights
or denial of civil rights and what that
man did
might have carried a deeper insult now
i've never had my civil rights denied
but
my parents who were great storytellers
would share experiences about growing up
back in the day
and i remember them
talking about
when they were courting
how they like to go to the theater and
they would hold hands and they would sit
in their designated section in the
balcony or how much they enjoyed going
to
the colored swimming pool with their
friends
i loved these stories
but it reminded me segregation was not
that long ago
and when that man white man
when he strode forward with such
confidence and placed his passport
passing over mine
it was like a punch in the gut
there were other women that were in that
line
but i was the only black person so the
visual was very stark and i say this as
an example of bias
that led me
to my journey in discovering how to move
past my own unconscious bias
we've learned through studies that
unconscious bias can start in the early
years that really wasn't my experience
growing up i i grew up in a beautiful
small town in a home my parents built we
worshiped in a multicultural church
built by our ancestors
i went to a city school diverse student
body
overwhelmingly fair teacher so i never
really felt that i didn't belong
likewise i was raised to appreciate the
differences in others i got along well
with a wide variety of students
i love foreign language
i had half a dozen pen pals from around
the world when i was in high school
it wasn't until i started traveling and
when primarily
in the higher boarding groups
and most frequently
involving men
my reaction to this
was one of conflict avoidance
better to lay low because i'd seen
examples
you know if something would happen to
dispute or what have you i would
probably be at a disadvantage
so better to just keep calm and stay out
of the fray that meant avoiding eye
contact it meant not engaging in a lot
of conversation
at the gates where we would sit i tended
to go to the less populated areas
laptop book headphones earphones
all were my little weapons
shields to protect me
kind of insulating
that was how it went for a while
it changed my travel experience i went
from being this happy-go-lucky curious
engaging traveler to uh you know
i'm just trying to get from point a to
point b
with as little drama as possible
and then i was approached by a
supervisor with a proposal
an invitation for a project that
involved global travel
now you would think
that based upon what i've just shared
with you about some of my travel
experiences that i would have hesitated
before i responded i didn't i
immediately said yes
it was that person inside me the person
who wanted to experience
differences culture sights sounds people
i immediately said yes but when the
excitement down died down there was a
reckoning okay now what am i going to do
after all this was global travel
hadn't i seen it in the news
in the movies in the media
some parts of the world
there's a perception of black people
that we are less than less intelligent
less valued
how am i going to handle that well you
know my strategy had been working pretty
well
so i decided to continue that be
professional
be polite but i'm gonna protect myself
that barrier is going to stay in place
and that's what i did if there was any
doubt in my mind it was reinforced when
that supervisor before my first
adventure
came to me and during the conversation
said how are you going to deal with
racial prejudice when you encounter it
wow
came right out with it
i respect him for that
but it's real
made it very real to me and i just told
him that i would endeavor to take the
high road i would continue to do as i
had been the job would get done i
wouldn't let it deter me so off i went
and it was
the opportunity of a lifetime i am so
glad that i took that assignment and
then one night i was in my hotel room i
was having dinner
and i reflected on the fact that i had
been invited to dinner by a colleague
that night
an invitation to dine with them with
their family and their home and i had
said no
and it wasn't the first time that that
had happened
i had gotten very comfortable in my
protective armor
and those no's with the nice excuses
were rolling off the tongue
but this was different it was the second
such invitation that i had had
in one week and i had to face the fact
i was thinking that i wouldn't be
welcomed that i wouldn't be treated
as well or as much as
during this adventure and yet people
were reaching out to me they were
wanting to engage they were wanting to
connect and now i was the one
that was saying no and putting up the
barrier due to my unconscious bias
it was a difficult moment a harsh moment
to realize that i was being a hypocrite
but it was my first
move toward my journey to move beyond
unconscious bias was recognizing that
the way i was acting
was not consistent with my values it was
not consistent with who i said i was not
consistent with the good citizen who
wanted to experience others and cultures
and sights and sounds not consistent
with the hr professional who is supposed
to be objective and fair-minded in
making their decisions
no it was inconsistent
that was my first step
and then i thought about the impact of
it
do i leave this the way it is or do i
make change
i decided to make change because the
impact to me
concerned me did i hurt people's
feelings
did i change the trajectory of a
friendship
you know
that to be invited into anyone's home in
any culture
is so special
i know that i missed out
on some rich experiences and i didn't
like that feeling that feeling of regret
regret for missed opportunities so i
endeavor to make a change
as a leadership trainer one of the
messages that i deliver to my clients is
when it comes to managing emotions we
must accept emotions including those
negative ones
give them their do
manage them and then make positive
change
for me that emotion was regret
i'm a literal person so i gave myself a
weekend
a weekend to deal with this and then
decide what changes i was going to make
for me
the weekend was all that i needed and
after the end of that weekend i made a
decision
to make changes
and to forgive myself
i decided to leave the self-guilt behind
i decided to leave the self-judgment
behind
and start going about
making new changes what did those
changes look like well
first of all i started accepting those
invitations
i accepted the invites and i started
extending invites to my city to my town
from people from other parts of the
world
what a more meaningful relationship
that resulted in in many instances you
know people are complicated we take the
good with the bad
but it was something that i never
doubted that i regretted having done
another change that i made
was i reflected on my travel experience
i started avoiding
eye contact before i stopped doing that
i started making eye contact that's who
i am i started being engaging again
still have my headphones and still have
my materials my laptop and book but i
don't use them as shields anymore
i take moments i take breaks to stop and
absorb what's going on around me and
enjoying people it's amazing how often
sometimes when that happens people want
to talk people want to get to know you
it's very important
of course there are still the negative
situations they do occur from time to
time
i've endeavored that i will take the
high road in those instances but more
importantly i won't let the ugliness of
a few
cause me
to paint a whole category with a broad
brush
speaking of negative
negative experiences what about that
situation in the airport
we're at a stalemate
boarding passes
i'm sure the people that were in the
surrounding gateway were like oh my
goodness we're about to have a scene
here
but i didn't give them that i waited for
the gate attendant white lady
she reached under
and took my boarding pass and said this
lady belongs in this boarding group as
well
the man turned and left without a word i
said thank you and i bored it
things don't always go my way
and when they don't i will vocalize my
displeasure
and move on
on occasion if it's serious i will
complain but that's very rare
it's important to me to set
a good example
this isn't the case with everyone not
everyone wants to own that
in these past turbulent years where
we've had so much upheaval including in
regards to bias
i've had many a friend confide i am so
tired
i am so frustrated with feeling like i'm
the representative for my race because
i'm the only one representing in the
group i have to be the educator i'm
tired of this i get it
and you know what if we were to
change that and say black race white
race asian race or any category
i'm sure that you and many others would
feel the same way we do get tired of
being the educators but whether we
realize it or not we're always educating
people by our behaviors and by our
actions
many times throughout the day you are
either
showing someone something different than
their unconscious bias realize which is
a wonderful teachable moment
or you are reinforcing their unconscious
bias
and at the end of the day
don't we all just want to be understood
don't we all just want to be accepted
for who we are
so i find that setting the good example
is a key to moving beyond bias
for me
for you
and for others
[Music]
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