bias
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PBS NOVA's Picture a Scientist Exclusive Clip: Being a Black Woman in STEM Sometimes Means Being Mistaken As a Janitor
As many Black folks have learned climbing the figurative ladder of success, “Black excellence” does not provide immunity from racism. In fact, the various micro-aggressions become quite acute when cloaked with the veil of excellence. In PBS NOVA’s film Picture a Scientist, directed by Sharon Shattuck and Ian Cheney, which takes an investigative approach to…
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Louisiana Judge Who Shot Off N-Word Laced Text Messages After Her Affair Was Uncovered Resigns
One day after Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards called for her resignation, District Judge Jessie LeBlanc submitted a letter announcing she’d be stepping down immediately. LeBlanc had been facing mounting pressure to resign after a local news station discovered that not only had she been having an affair with a chief deputy in her Parish,…
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Philadelphia Starbucks in ‘Isis’ Flap Over Man’s Islamic Name
You would think that Starbucks would have its @#$% together by now. Or at least its staffers. But not so much. Earlier this week, Niquel Johnson said he visited a Philadelphia outpost of the coffee chain—one he’s frequented before—and after using his name when placing his order, he was treated like he should be on…
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Surprising No One, Georgetown Study Confirms Previous Findings on Adultification Bias—By Listening to Black Women and Girls
In 2017, the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality’s Initiative on Gender Justice and Opportunity released Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood (pdf), providing concrete data that adults typically perceive black girls, particularly those aged 5 to 14, to be more “adult-like” and less innocent than their white peers. Via responses garnered…
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Separate, but Equally Dangerous: How the Jussie Smollett and Liam Neeson Controversies Reinforce Racist Narratives About Black Men
As the survivor of a violent crime, I can attest that the aftermath is, in some ways, the hardest part. That’s when the physical pain, perhaps previously dulled by adrenaline, really kicks in—along with regrets, doubts, fears about the future, and that lingering beast known as PTSD. Twelve years ago, after I was robbed and…
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The Privilege of White Individuality
Stop lying; you did it, too. I’m sure I’m not alone in being among those who—for a brief moment when they heard about the Las Vegas shooting—quietly mumbled to themselves, “Dear God, please don’t let the shooter be black.” As you’re reading this, someone is typing a variation of the comment “Nah, I knew. Black…
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Fliers Promoting White Supremacy Found at University of Mich.
On Monday morning, students at the University of Michigan found fliers promoting white supremacy and espousing racist views, sparking a campuswide response, USA Today College reports. One poster went on about “Why White Women Shouldn’t Date Black Men,” and claimed that black men were “more likely to abuse you” and “have STDs” and that “your kids…
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Detroit Mom Inherits Thousands of Dollars, Has Account Frozen After Being Suspected of Fraud
A Detroit mother of four is furious that she has not been able to touch a single penny in her bank account because the account has been frozen. According to WJBK, Christina Anderson has had to put her son’s graduation party on hold, and she is now unsure how long the lights in her home…
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Dear Black People: Blackness Is Not A Disease
Implicit bias has replaced overt racism as the primary cause of disparities that disadvantage Black people. It’s not that there are no overt bigots anymore, but our society has made most bigotry so stigmatized that it has been forced to go underground, into the unconscious. You will have people who are absolutely sure they hold…