Be better than your bias
Respond to the horrific news of George Floyd and others with a commitment to increasing your self-awareness and using positive influence.
George Floyd, Philando Castile, Eric Garner. These are some of the names of African American men whose deaths by the hands of law enforcement were captured on video. Horrific events like the ones these men and their families were subject to cause me a great sense of frustration, disappointment, discouragement and reflection that I try to work through, as this article on Maintaining Professionalism while Black articulates very well.
I feel great sorrow for their families and concern for those raising African American children in this world. I wasn’t raised to have prejudice or bias dictate my decision-making, and I live in a community—as you see in the picture below—where we embrace our differences. I was raised, however, to know prejudice and bias are everywhere, sometimes in your face like we are seeing on various videos but often lurking behind the scenes that go unnoticed and unchecked in schools, companies, industries, neighborhoods and households.
I was trying to get my arms around why we still see this struggle between people who are different. I heard a TV pundit mention the role bias plays and I searched for resources on this topic. I came across a session led by Sarah Gibson on unconscious bias that really got me thinking.
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