Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racist, Culturally Responsive Education

Implicit Bias & Microaggressions

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Terminology

Implicit Bias

"Implicit bias is a mental process that stimulates negative attitudes about people who are not members of one’s own “in group.” Implicit racial bias leads to discrimination against people who are not members of one’s own racial group. In his book, The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation, Professor Drew Westen tells us that “Irrespective of what we may feel and believe consciously, most White Americans—including many who hold consciously progressive values and attitudes—harbor negative associations toward people of color.” Implicit bias affects the way that we think about “out groups” and it influences the way that we react to and interact with out group members. Implicit bias operates in what researchers call our “implicit mind,” the part of the brain that we commonly call the “subconscious” or the “unconscious.” This means that implicit bias can operate in an individual’s mind without a conscious awareness of this process. Westen suggests that, typically, our subconscious attitudes are less egalitarian than our conscious attitudes."

from the Kirwan Institute at Ohio State University

Microaggressions

​Microaggression refers to : 

  1. a subtle but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other non-dominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype: microaggressions such as "I don't see you as black."
  2. the act of discriminating against a non-dominant group by means of such comments or actions: The diversity committee discussed the issue of microaggressions toward women on campus.

(definition of microaggression is from Dictionary.com)

Oppression

Oppression works at both the institutional and individual level. 

Ways oppression works:
  1. Institutionalized or structural oppression works systemically to oppress some groups of people, whether through inequality in the law, access to economic or educational opportunity,
  2. Interpersonal or individual oppression occurs between people. Oppression may be overt or covert.
  3. Internalized oppression is the unconscious feeling like one doesn't belong. This helps to perpetuate a cycle of oppression.