What do you think of the word bias? Most of the time, when we think of bias, we view it in terms of some preferential treatment. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines bias as a systemic error introduced into sampling or testing by selecting or encouraging one outcome over or answers over others.
We all have some degree of bias. We all tend to prefer one thing over another. However, did you know that much of our preference results from the information we have experienced to this point in our lives? Although some bias may be good, a lot of it may be not so good and has hurt how we see and understand the world. So how do we confront our bias? To engage our prejudices and learn to build bridges, we must expose ourselves to new information and diversify our people group.
Let us begin by acknowledging our bias. Our upbringing and what we have been exposed to and experienced thus far in life have formed our bias. Believe it or not, society has trained us in how to think and has impacted our implicit and explicit biases.
What is our implicit bias? Implicit bias has to do with how we think. It is a bias that is not consciously held or recognized. Yes, you can be subconsciously biased and not know it. Why is this? This is because much has been taught and or experienced has become so normalized that we have subconsciously adopted beliefs and or behaviors that could be offensive or racist to someone else, and we don't even know it. If we look back to our elementary and even grade school years, they painted a picture that white was good and dark or black was bad for years. The white kid would be the A student with the trophy, and the black kid always being angry. Imagine the impact that has had on how we view people that look different from us. Such things and the lack of exposure have caused many of us to feel uncomfortable around each other, thus causing the racial rifts we see, which are generated out of a place of fear.
I remember when I first experienced implicit bias, or prejudice towards me. When I first moved to a new school in Kindergarten and first grade. At the time, I went to a predominantly white school. Moreover, from the time I was in 1st grade to 10th grade, I never quite felt like I fit in. Although I was confident in who I was, I remember wondering why my friends got preferential treatment over me? Come to find out; it was because of implicit bias. They were not used to being around someone who looked like me. Moreover, the more I got to know people, the more the walls came down.
Just as I had an implicit bias towards me, I recognized that I also had my own implicit bias. I remember being told not to go to a certain part of town because there were bad kids over there. This was a part of town that was considered "the hood." My own implicit bias told me not to hang around such kids because they might steal something or do something to me. It was out of fear that I did not go to that part of town for a while.
Just as we all have implicit bias, we also have explicit tendencies. Explicit bias has to do more with our actions. Explicit bias is when we act or do something that can be offensive and hurt someone else of a different race or culture or gender. Explicit bias is demonstrated in more harmful ways, such as racial slurs, bullying in schools and the workplace, and obviously, all the hate crimes we continue to see in the news.
I could go on and on about acknowledging our own bias, but the question is, how can we confront it? How can we be people of change and move from alienating ourselves from one another and move to building bridges? To confront our biases and change how we think, we must learn to expose ourselves to new information and diversify our people group.
Expose yourself to new information.
I believe that exposure is the biggest key to confronting our bias. The reality is that what we understand at this point in our lives results from the information we have accumulated and believed. Moreover, just like you learned how to think according to the old information you knew, you can change your mind by replacing it with new information. For example, I believed that my Mother's spaghetti was the best when I was younger. Because I thought hers was the best, I was skeptical of anyone else's spaghetti. That was until I met the woman who would become my wife. The way my wife cooked her spaghetti was a bit different from my mother's. My Mom's was more traditional, but my wife added much more flavor and meat. Before I met my wife, my mindset and attitude were limited to how my Mother did things. However, my wife expanded my perspective. That is what happens when you are willing to expose yourself to new information, people, and places.
One way to learn new information is through traveling. It amazes me to see how many people are unwilling to cross the street and greet their neighbors, let alone get outside of the country. Although COVID has prohibited international traveling, traveling allows you to see the world from a different lens. It has the power to cause you to appreciate what you have and develop empathy for those who are underprivileged. As I mentioned earlier, there was a time when I was told not to go to a particular part of town. However, when I was a Junior in High School, I chose to do differently. I decided to try out for a traveling basketball team that had kids from those areas of town on the team. During my time on the team, I learned that these kids were not like I was told. They were smart, kind, and actually made me feel like I belonged. I learned how people from such communities value community, family, diversity, and inclusion. I would have never known this of them unless I was willing to expose myself to new information and go to the other side of town.
2. Diversify your people group.
Just as traveling can broaden your perspective, your people group teaches you new information by doing as I did and diversifying. Who are your friends? Do most of your friends look like you, act like you, and think like you? If so, it is time to diversify your people group. I'm not telling you to unfriend your friends, but including people from different cultures in your people group can broaden your perspective and cause you to have a better worldview. Diversifying your people group applies personally; it also applies when it comes to running businesses and organizations. It has been proven that people tend to work better when around people who resemble them. Today, companies are spending millions of dollars to learn how to become more diverse and inclusive because they see how becoming more diverse and inclusive has created a better work environment, causing their employees to become more creative and practical.
Finally, we all have biases. Some may be good, and others maybe not be so good. But it is through confronting our discrimination by exposing ourselves to new information and diversifying our people group that helps us develop a healthier perspective and empowers us to span across the racial gap and build bridges.
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