SCPL Online NonFiction Book Club discussion

Hello, members!

Today I want explore what Stephens-Davidowitz refers to as "the truth about hate and prejudice" (p.128). We've already discussed the explicit racism the author addressed in the book's opening, but there is another, less obvious bias known as "implicit prejudice".

Political scientists believe that, while a person may not exhibit racist behaviour or harbour ill will toward people of other ethnicities, they may have a subconscious bias. Stephens-Davidowitz goes on to discuss how this can be tested using an implicit-association test, which, the author posits, consistently show that it takes most people longer to associate black faces with positive words than negative words, thus proving a bias he or she may not be aware of.

Have you ever taken on of these tests? If so, what did you think about your results? If you haven't, and want to take a test, you can do so here: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit.... If you feel comfortable doing so, please feel free to share how you feel about the results. If you've taken the test, do you feel that it is an accurate measure of unconscious bias? Do you believe that white folks really do have an implicit bias toward people of colour? Should one feel guilty if the test reveals this bias?

Do you agree with the author's provocative assertion that "the primary explanation for discrimination against African Americans today is not the fact that the people who agree to participate in lab experiments make subconscious associations...it is the fact that millions of white Americans continue to do things like search for "n-word" jokes"? (p.134).