Our Subconscious And Racism
Author: Kim Olver

The research I've done over the past month is teaching me about
the strength of our subconscious mind and the fact that we are
so unaware of its beliefs, opinions and affects it has on our
behavior.

I just finished taking the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT)
available online at www.implicit.harvard.edu. I recommend you
take it, if you haven't already. When you get to that page,
click on the "Demonstration" link and on the next page, click on
"Go to the Demonstration Tests" link at the bottom of the page.
Then, read the Preliminary Information page, and if agreeable,
click on "I wish to proceed." On the next page, select the "Race
IAT" button and proceed with the test. I was disturbed by my
results.

I am the author of the book, Leveraging Diversity at Work, I
facilitate diversity workshops internationally and my score
shows I have a slight preference for European-Americans as
compared to African-Americans. I would have hoped that I would
have scored in the no preference category. What this test
measures is our subconscious feelings, of which we are often
unaware. For research purposes, the question is asked where you
consciously place yourself in your preference of the races.
Naturally, I believed I saw both races as equal, however, my
subconscious told a different story.

There are many other IATs available and I recommend you take as
many as you like. Here are some titles you can choose:
Gender-Science IAT, Skin-tone IAT, Disability IAT, Asian IAT,
Weight IAT, Religion IAT, Age IAT, Sexuality IAT and many
others. Check it out to see if your conscious beliefs are lined
up with your subconscious tendencies.

As I am beginning to understand this dynamic, I find it may
explain some things that have been puzzling to me. As a white
female in the US, when I talk with other white people, most will
denounce racism as wrong. They will state their conscious
beliefs that white people and black people are equal and that
they, themselves, believe in equality for all and do not
participate in oppressive thoughts or behavior and might even
say they would be an advocate for minorities in society by
taking a public stand against prejudice. This led to my
understanding that while racism is still alive and well in some
areas, such as skinhead and Ku Klux Klan organizations, overall,
white people are less racist than in years past.

I would be right if I were only measuring conscious beliefs.
Most white people are against prejudice and oppression
consciously, however, many are affected by their subconscious
programming of which they are largely unaware.

Contrast this with the experience of many Black and
African-American people in the US. Most Blacks I know will deny
that racism is any less prevalent than it used to be. Sure there
have been laws passed to protect them from overt discrimination
but they know there are so many instances of covert racism that
it's difficult to tell where it is coming from. Could this be
because they pick up on the subconscious beliefs of most White
Americans? In fact the Race IAT shows that 27% of all who take
it, Blacks and Whites alike, show a strong preference for
European-Americans and another 27% show a moderate preference
for European-Americans, accounting for 54% of all people taking
the test. The rest of the people are distributed among five
other categories—slight preference for European-Americans, no
preference, slight preference for African-American, moderate
preference for African-American and strong preference for
African-American with decreasing percentages representing each
of these subsequent categories.

Stephen Young has developed a program, MicroInequities: The
Power of Small™. Research shows that the content of our verbal
messages means far less than the "subtle, often subconscious
signals representing the core of the messages we send," such as
eye rolling, undivided attention given to one group and not
others, eye contact, arms folded, etc. MicroInequities are
"cumulative, subtle messages that occur when these signals are
negative or promote a negative bias. MicroInequities are not
one-time events. They are cumulative, repeated behaviors that
devalue, discourage, and impair performance in the workplace."
They can certainly come deliberately from our conscious mind but
I believe most often MicroInequities are glimpses into what our
subconscious mind believes.

The first step in understanding this phenomenon is to gain
information. Take the test. Understand what your subconscious
believes and tells you on a daily basis. Know that you are not
responsible for the programming you received. Most of the
messages programmed into your subconscious, where placed there
prior to your sixth birthday. You couldn't defend against them.
They came from the culture in which you were raised.

However, now that you know about the disparity between your
conscious intentions and your subconscious beliefs, you are
responsible for taking or not taking action. If you want to take
action, you need to become aware of the messages of your
subconscious and deliberately place yourself in situations where
you will be exposed to positive messages and associations with
the group against which you have been biased. Gaining more
positive information and experiences to balance out the negative
is the only way to counterbalance the influence of our
subconscious.

Bring your subconscious into your conscious awareness. Don't
allow it to play uninterrupted in the background of your daily
experience. Shine a light on it and become committed to bringing
your subconscious into alignment with what your conscious mind
tells you to be true.


About The Author: Kim Olver is a life, relationship and
executive coach. Her mission is to help people get along better
with the important people in their lives. She teaches people how
to live from the inside out by empowering them to focus on the
things they can change. http://www.celebratediversity.biz