Test to correct subconscious biases

[brush]

There's a NYT article by Nicholas Kristol that revisits previous studies on issues of unconscious racial biases that black people experience in our society, You know, things like resumes with names like "Jamal" get thrown into the round file, but resumes with names like "Brendan" of "Lauren" get called for an interview. Job applicants with those same names are also 50% more likely to get call backs from job interviews also.

We all know about apartment and home rental situations where callers with black sounding names seeking to rent are quite often told that there are no vacancies when there actual are vacancies when white applicants apply.

One thing that surpised me this unconsciouls racism manifests itself in the sports world with officials. Black players in basketball are called for more fouls, black baseball pitchers get more "ball" called against them, same thing in football with more flags thrown against black players.

We even see here on DU with the foul "Stockholm Syndrome" post and others (maybe I should take that back as that post and others were so blatant maybe their authors were exhibiting anything but subconscious biases).

But there is a cure. Make people more aware of their unconscious biases and they can show marked improvement because they begin to recognize it through awareness and familiarity with their former attitudes when situations that come up that can be handled differently from before.

Here's a link to a free online test that's worth exploring: www.projectimplicit.com

[Old Codger]

1. Thank you

Interesting site, and one of the better posts I have seen lately.

[brush]

2. Thank you.

[gwheezie]

3. That was interesting

I didn't think my preference would come out the way it did.

[Jamaal510]

4. That's bad news for me

and my future job prospects. My father told me that maybe I should consider filling out applications using my middle name (Mitchell) instead of my first name.
Also that statistic about Black athletes being penalized more in games is interesting and something I would've never noticed, though.

[brush]

5. Don't get discouraged. Many AAs and other POCs have been dealing with and working around . . .

racism for decades.

Start with knowing that racism exists then figure out ways to outsmart it.

Always be confident of your abilities and keep this in mind, racism is the purview of the ignorant.

There will be allies along the way to help.

[Number23]

6. That's a trick alot of black folks have done for decades

LaQuita MaShawn Jackson becomes L.M. Jackson on the resume or business cards.

Mitchell is a great name anyway. It's a shame all of the tricks black folks have had to create just to survive in this freaking world.