The document discusses the need to change how we talk about, think about, and act on issues of race. It notes that implicit or unconscious biases related to race are difficult to address when discussing race openly. The author advocates reframing discussions around shared values like unity, fairness and opportunity to create an empathetic space. He also argues that transformative change requires understanding how language shapes perceptions of race and how framing impacts racial thinking on both explicit and implicit levels. By linking individual fates instead of separating them along racial lines, progress can be made.

1. The Need to Change the
Way We Talk, Think, and
Act on Race
john a. powell
Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity
Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law
OSU Authors and Conversation Soul Food Luncheon Series
October 22, 2010

2. Talking about Race: Language and Implicit Bias 2

3. Perceptions of Racism
Pre-Obama Post-Obama
POST-RACIAL
HATEFUL
BEYOND RACE
INDIVIDUAL
RACISM=DEAD
PERSONAL
EXPLICIT
CONSCIOUS
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4. Types of Racism
 Individual
 Institutional
 Structural
Racialization
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5. “Much of what we call race is
nonphenotypical.
All of what we call race is nonbiological.
Race is a process.”
~john powell
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6. Race in the Media
John Stossel
on the Civil Shirley Sherrod,
Rights Act USDA official
falsely accused
Arizona’s SB 1070 Video clip of racial
immigration law & (start at 1:40) discrimination
racial profiling fears
Video clip
Video clip
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7. Why Is It Difficult to Talk about Race?
 U.S. history of violence, repression, and injustice toward people of
color
 Feelings of resentment, guilt, and hostility
 Fear of stigmatizing groups and creating self-fulfilling prophecies
 Lack of information about consequences of racial inequality
 Failure to actively envision a “true democracy”
 Fear of being labeled a racist
 Lack of practice!
 Implicit bias (unconscious)
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8. Race Neutrality?
 The question is not if we should talk about race, but how
we should talk about race
 Race-neutral tactics may appear to have appeal, but in
reality, we’re not seeking race-neutrality—we’re seeking
racial fairness
 Colorblindness is not an appropriate shift in how we
perceive race
 Colorblindness will not end racism
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9. Talking about race
can reinforce our
conscious beliefs
or challenge our
implicit bias
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10. Implicit Bias
Racial attitudes operate in our
unconscious (subconscious) mind
They are usually invisible to
us but significantly influence
our position on critical issues
Negative unconscious
attitudes about race are called
“implicit bias”
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11.  Only 2% of emotional
cognition is available
to us consciously
 Messages can be
“framed” to speak to
our unconscious
 Racial bias tends to
reside in the
unconscious network
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12. The Dancing Girl & Cat Illusions
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13. The Dancing Girl & Cat Illusions
 How did you see them?
 Can you change how you look
at them?
 They don’t change directions
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14. Where is this family sitting?
Your response is indicative of your cultural orientation
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15. What colors are the following lines
of text?
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16. What colors are the following lines
of text?
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17. What colors are the following lines
of text?
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18. What colors are the following lines
of text?
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19. What colors are the following lines
of text?
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20. Tim Wise
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8601383
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21. Dos and Don’ts of Talking about Race
•Frame the discussion using the •Present disparities only
Don’t
norms & values of the audience
Do
•Anchor to their narratives •Frame action as robbing Peter to
pay Paul
•In the story you tell, make sure
everyone can see themselves •Separate out people in need from
•“Us”—not just “those people” “everybody else”
•Acknowledge that individualism is •Glide over real fears, shared
important and that the healthiest suffering, or the fact that people
individual is nurtured by a are often internally divided
community invested in
everyone’s success •Dismiss the importance of
individual efforts
•Emphasize shared, deep values
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22. Framing Conversations
• Focus on terms that bring people
together rather than those that are
divisive
Unity • A “we” perspective rather than an
“us/them” mindset
• “We the people” recognizes all the
people
Linked • The fates of all people are linked
• We need to understand the effect
Fate that institutional arrangements
have on all individuals
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23. Word Choice Matters
Using “minority” to refer to
people of color is outdated and
tends to carry a subordinate
connotation
Whites are projected to no
longer be a statistical minority
by 2042
•Majority minority cities
already exist
•Is the context numeric or
sociological?
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24. Highlight Deep Shared Values
Unity Security Opportunity
Community Mobility Redemption
Fairness Liberty
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25. Create an Empathetic Space
“I am the son of a Black man from Kenya and a White woman
from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a White grandfather
who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during
World War II and a White grandmother who worked on a
bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was
overseas… I am married to a Black American who carries within
her the blood of slaves and slave owners—an inheritance we
pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters,
nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every
hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live,
I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story
even possible.” ~President Barack Obama
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26. A Transformative Agenda
Transformative change in the racial paradigm in the
U.S. requires substantive efforts in three areas
Talking about race: Understanding how language
and messages shape reality and the perception
of reality
Thinking about race: Understanding how framing
and priming impact information processing in
both the explicit and the implicit mind
Linking these understandings to the way we act
on race and how we arrange our institutions
and policies
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27. Linked Fates…Transformative Change
Our fates are linked, yet our fates have
been socially constructed as disconnected,
especially through the categories of race,
class, gender, nationality, religion…
We need to consider ourselves connected
to—instead of isolated from—“thy neighbor”
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28. www.kirwaninstitute.org
www.race-talk.org
Follow the KirwanInstitute
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