BYU ANTIRACISM DATABASE PROJECT

DIGEST 3 | LORD , IS I T I ?

L O R D , I S I T I ?EXAMINING OURSELVES

ON ISSUES OF RACE

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say untohim, Lord, is it I?

We must put aside our pride, see beyond our vanity, and in humility ask, "Lord, is itI?" In these simple words lies the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personalconversion and lasting change.

THEMES TO PONDER

MATTHEW 26:22

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Conference, October 2014

LORD, IS IT I?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

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What expectations or ideas about race have I absorbed unintentionallyfrom the world around me?How can I work to overcome incorrect ideas and biases in myself?How does unconscious racial bias affect my behavior and att itudes?How can I work to prevent unconscious racial bias from manifesting inways that might harm others?How wil l I better see, hear and support people of color in ways thatpromote truth rather than bias?

INVITATIONWe invite you to prayerful ly ponder the resources presented and deeply studyas prompted by the Holy Ghost. Fol low the guidance of the Spirit in identifyingone or more personal actions you can take to be more spiritual ly prepared toaddress racism, promote equity, and enhance belonging at BYU.

RESOURCES

It is possible to have unconscious racial bias even if you are not a racist. Whereasovert racism is a conscious, intentional attempt to discriminate against, exclude, harass, orotherwise harm someone based on their race, implicit biases are subconscious attitudes orstereotypes. These attitudes are learned associations and connections that are often at workwithout conscious thought.We all have others that we judge and fear. Our brains are wired to make automaticjudgments about others’ behaviors in a way that is tied to our sense of personal safety.Implicit biases are often the result of socialization we’re not even aware of. Theseautomatic reactions are shaped by movies we watch, news stories, the beliefs of others, andour personal experiences or thoughts.We are responsible for our unconscious biases. While we may not have been responsiblefor the images and ideas in our social environment that shaped our unconscious biases, weare responsible for recognizing these biases in ourselves and actively unlearning them.Implicit biases can be corrected. Implicit bias can be reduced through a combination ofawareness of implicit bias, concern about the effects of that bias, and the application ofstrategies to reduce bias. Automatic judgements can be rewired by engaging in morethoughtful, intentional processing of others’ behaviors and intentions. Awareness of thisnatural process of interactions between conscious and unconscious brain patterns is key tochanging the way that we react to others’ behaviors and communication.

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN OVERT AND IMPLICIT BIAS

Recognize that racist beliefs or attitudes are cause for repentance. Even if you do nothave consciously racist beliefs or attitudes, the prophet’s call to repent of racist attitudes canalso be applied to the unconscious racial biases that cause harm in others. “Our Blackbrothers and sisters the world over are enduring the pains of racism and prejudice. Today, Icall upon our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions ofprejudice. I plead with you to promote respect for all of God’s children.”Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Feeling uncomfortable can be an indicatorof growth. “Christianity is comforting but often not comfortable. The path to holiness andhappiness here and hereafter is a long and sometimes rocky one. It takes time and tenacity towalk it. But, of course, the reward for doing so is monumental.”Work to be both humble and vulnerable. Leaders who express vulnerability by beingwilling to self-confront, admitting mistakes or limitations, acknowledging what they don’t knowand seeking to learn from others, can improve not only themselves but those around them.“Many of us live or work in an environment where humility is often misunderstood andconsidered a weakness. Yet as we learn about the workings of God, the power of a humbleand submissive spirit becomes apparent. In the kingdom of God, greatness begins withhumility and submissiveness.”

PREPARE AND LEARN TO IDENTIFY PERSONAL BIAS

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Understand that implicit bias can cause harm for others. Implicit bias has harmful real-world consequences that include suboptimal medical care, poor patient communication,

Understand that the things we see or learn about other people can be shaped byunfair systems and structures. Implicit bias is often based on things we have observed inthe world. But this view can be shaped by systems (ingrained in the policies and practices atinstitutions like banks, schools, companies, government agencies, and law enforcement) thatcreate an unfair picture of others because the systems themselves are unfair. For example,connect to longstanding educational and workplace discriminatory processes, for every $100white families earn in income, black families earn just $57.30.Self-identify bias. Review and self-reflect on assumptions, expectations, and treatments ofcertain racial groups who may struggle or excel in certain fields of study, hold strong opinions,or have particular backgrounds, diets, and identities.

fewer callbacks for job interviews and lower rates of promotion, higher likelihood of schoolexpulsion, longer sentences in the justice system, and internalizing negative stereotypesabout the self (stereotype threat).

Self-testing on bias may be helpful as a tool of examination, and establishing usefullanguage for shared reflection.Self-administered tests, like the series available on the Implicit Association Test site fromHarvard University, allow for the user to identify their own implicit biases, making unconsciousthought patterns visible.Informal checklists can serve as a test to help us see where we might be using phrases orlanguage that point to implicit bias.Consider beliefs that may demonstrate unconscious bias. Darius Gray suggestsconsideration of the following examples of beliefs that may suggest unconscious bias:

Prefer associating only with those of your own race and think others should too.Believe it’s OK to discriminate when selling or renting a home.Don’t initiate a friendship (or respond to friendly overtures) because of racial differences.Aren’t happy if your children associate with those of a particular race.Feel proud of yourself when you behave well toward someone of another race.Would have difficulty welcoming someone of a particular race into your family circle.Feel less compassion toward those of a different race who suffer the effects of poverty,war, famine, crime, and so on.Assume that a person of another race (or who looks different) must be from anothercountry.Make jokes or disparaging remarks relating to someone’s race or a racial group.Believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ supports any racist thinking or behavior.Justify racist attitudes or behaviors because of similar attitudes or behaviors shown byother good people, including leaders or members.

Consider emotional reactions that may demonstrate unconscious bias. Personalfeelings can highlight thoughts that are created by unconscious bias. Consider the following:

Are you surprised when you meet a Black person whose command of language or speechor writing is of the highest order?Do you assume that when you meet a Black person in an athletic competition that he orshe will be stronger or faster than you?

SELF-ADMINISTERED TESTS

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Do you feel anxiety when a Black man checks your gas meter or does home repairs?Consider assumptions that may demonstrate unconscious bias. Sometimes we haveassumptions that we don’t even second-guess, but they may not be consistent with what wewould believe if we really consciously examined them. Do you have any of the following beliefs?Are they really supported by evidence? Are any of them possibly the result of unfair systemsrather than true statements about whole groups of people?

Students from certain groups are not intellectual, are irresponsible, are satisfied withbelow average grades, lack ability, have high ability in particular subject areas, etc.Students from certain backgrounds (e.g., students from urban or rural areas, students whospeak with an accent, students from specific racial or ethnic groups) are poor writers.Poor writing suggests limited intellectual ability.Students whose cultural affiliation is tied to non-English speaking groups are not nativeEnglish speakers or are bilingual.Students who are affiliated with a particular group are experts on issues related to thatgroup and feel comfortable being seen as information sources to the rest of the class andthe instructor who are not members of that group. A related assumption is that EuropeanAmerican students do not have opinions about issues of race or ethnicity and members ofother groups do have opinions about these issues.All students from a particular group share the same view on an issue, and their perspectivewill necessarily be different from the majority of the class who are not from that group.Students will relate only to cases or readings with characters who resemble them.

Acknowledge the problem. We cannot fix that which we overlook or deny. Just beingconscious of biases and actively thinking about the possible effects of unconscious bias canhelp in making better decisions. Listen to the experiences of others without responding. Avoiding the urge or pressureto respond or inject your own experience, listening becomes an act of discovery andappreciation. This can reshape your biases by providing your brain with more and newerinformation.Learn a new approach. Don’t overwhelm yourself with the amount of things to learn or try.Like any experience in learning, let one experience build upon the other. Counter stereotypes by not being exclusive. Giving your attention and time to thosewhose views and experience mirrors your own reinforces unconscious bias. You can workagainst stereotypes, for example, by making a conscious effort to seek perspectives fromthose who are outside your own demographic through reading, social media, and personalconversations.Make your own social networks diverse. Research has consistently shown that prejudicedecreases as people have more contact with different social groups, and the same applies tounconscious bias. Just having contact with the people towards whom you may be biased andlearning more about them can help to undermine your bias and replace it with newinformation.

BEGIN THE WORK OF CORRECTING YOUR OWNUNCONSCIOUS BIAS

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Reduce your exposure to stereotypes that reinforce unconscious bias. Avoid mediathat fictitiously or unfairly depicts people of color in roles that are violent or underprivileged.Because certain parts of our brains cannot effectively distinguish between fiction and reality(especially in movies and television), such images can reinforce false biases.Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The fear of saying the wrong thing, the fear of beingcalled out or causing offense, can completely paralyze us. It can stop us from havingtransformative conversations to be able to better understand racism beyond a single overt actof intentional hate. Do what you can in the moment, and learn as you go. Be aware of the impact of stress. Understand that you are more prone to bias when youare under pressure. Slow down and question your biases.Reconnect with your core value system. Basic human rights and dignity are something wemay value, but forget or overlook in the heat and pressure of daily life.

Check your work product for evidence of unconscious bias. Check for bias by analyzingtest scores, diversity of perspectives on syllabus content, and your behaviors andconversations in the classroom and with colleagues.When evaluating others, avoid information that could trigger your biases. Forexample, if you’re reviewing papers, have someone go through and remove the names andother information that would give you clues to the gender, race, age, and other factors thatcould introduce bias.Structure your decision-making. To avoid making decisions based on unconscious bias,spend some time thinking about what you do want them to be based on. The more standardsand structure you can inject into the decision-making process (such as using detailed gradingrubrics), the harder it will be for you to act on unconscious bias in ways that may harm others.Listen to others when they correct you. If someone points out your potential biases, donot take it as a personal attack but as a way to learn. You might even consider inviting othersto watch for unconscious biases at work during classroom interactions or conversations withcolleagues. As a team, you and those around you can work to bring these biases to the forewhere they can be intentionally addressed.

REDUCE THE HARMFUL IMPACT OF YOUR UNCONSCIOUSBIASES ON OTHERS

Healing the Wounds of Racism | Darius Gray, 2018 | “We all benefit when we address thechallenges of incorrect thoughts and attitudes. As we acknowledge racism in the world aroundus and seek to overcome it in ourselves, we can move together as brothers and sisters towardour divine potential.”Hidden Racism: Do You Have Racial Biases? | Nova Reid, 2017 | Restless Network | Allpeople have prejudices and biases. Racism is an “unavoidable byproduct of living.” the fear ofsaying the wrong thing, the fear of being called out or causing offence, has completelyparalysed us. It’s stopped us from having transformative conversations to be able to betterunderstand racism beyond a single overt act of intentional hate.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES

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How to Be An Antiracist | Ibram X. Kendi | Kendi introduces a transformative concept thatreorients and re-energizes the conversation about racism, helping readers see all forms ofracism distinctly, understand their consequences, and work to oppose them both withinthemselves and the system. Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection, and Action, is aninteractive journal from Kendi, to aid individual understanding and growth.Privileged | Kyle Korver, Former Utah Jazz Player | An accessible example of the thoughtprocesses behind race-related learning and unlearning. Kyle Korver speaks to his experienceof recognizing his privilege and unlearning his biases after incidents of racial discriminationagainst his teammates and friends.Strategies to Address Unconscious Bias | University of California, San Francisco, Office ofDiversity and Outreach | This online training has video and written material to support facultyin assessing, seeing the science behind, and addressing unconscious bias.Thinking Fast and Slow | Daniel Kahneman | There is a dichotomy between two modes ofthought: "System 1" is fast, instinctive and emotional; "System 2" is slower, more deliberative,and more logical. From framing choices to people's tendency to replace a difficult questionwith one which is easy to answer, the book summarizes several decades of research tosuggest that people have too much confidence in human judgement. Philosopher Dan Yimapplies this directly to implicit racial bias.White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack | Peggy McIntosh | In this personalaccount, Peggy McIntosh describes her efforts to examine how she is benefited by being Whitein the United States.“The White Space” | Elijah Anderson, 2015 | Sociology of Race and Ethnicity | There arepredominantly White spaces in society and predominantly Black spaces. This article showshow Whites engage, or rather avoid engaging, with Black spaces, and how Black people arerequired to learn to navigate White spaces.

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1. Studies of Unconscious Bias: Racism Not Always by Racists | Lyubansky, Psychology Today, 2012

2. Implicit Racial Bias Across the Law | Smith and Levinson, Cambridge University Press, 20123. Why We Judge Others | Hall, Psychology Today, 20184. How does unconscious bias form? | Unconscious Bias Project, 20175. Implicit Bias | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Section 4, 20196. Long-term reduction in implicit race bias: A prejudice habit-breaking intervention |

Devine, Forscher, Austin, and Cox, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 20137. President Gordon B. Hinkley on Racial Intolerance | Hinkley, LDS General Conference

Priesthood Session, April 2006 | “Racial strife still lifts its ugly head . . . even right here among us.I plead with you, do all that you can to stop racial divisiveness of any kind. I remind you that noman who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself atrue disciple of Christ.”

8. President Nelson condemns racism, pleads for peace | Walker, Church News, June 2020 | “Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent!”

9. "Let God Prevail" | Nelson, LDS General Conference, October 202010. Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable | Ajayi, TED Talk, 201711. "Waiting on the Lord" | Holland, LDS General Conference, October 202012. Empowering Others Through Vulnerability | Owens, BYU Wheatley Institution, 201813. Psychology and Repentance | Bergin, BYU Speeches, 199414. Expressed Humility in Organizations: Implications for Performance, Teams, and

Leadership | Owens, Johnson, and Mitchell, Organization Science, 201315. The Empowerment of Humility | Edgley, LDS General Conference, October 200316. The Associations of Clinicians’ Implicit Attitudes About Race With Medical Visit

Communication and Patient Ratings of Interpersonal Care | Cooper, Roter, Carson,Beach, Sabin, Greenwald, and Inui, American Journal of Public Health, 2012

17. Discrimination in a low-wage labor market: A field experiment | Pager and Bonikowski, American Sociological Review, 2009

18. Implicit Bias in Preschool: A Research Study Brief | Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy, Yale School of Medicine, 2019

19. Race and the impact of detention on juvenile justice decision making | Leiber and Fox, Crime & Delinquency, 2005

20. Stereotype Threat Widens Achievement Gap | American Psychological Association, 200621. Discrimination comes in many forms: Individual, institutional, and structural |

Pincus, The American Behavioral Scientist, 199622. 26 simple charts to show friends and family who aren't convinced racism is still a

problem in America | Gal, Kiersz, Mark, Su, and Ward, Business Insider, 202023. Whites Have Huge Wealth Edge Over Blacks (but Don’t Know It) | Badger, The New York

Times, 201724. Awareness of Implicit Biases | The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale

University, 202025. Testing Tests: Determination of the Efficacy of Prejudice Measures | Simeoni, Electronic

Theses and Dissertations, 2005

REFERENCES

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26. Implicit Bias Test from Project Implicit at Harvard27. Dear White People: If You Have Ever Said Any of These Things Then You are Part ofthe Problem | Benjamin, Milwaukee Independent, 202028. Healing the Wounds of Racism | Gray, LDS Church Blog, 201829. The New Threat: ‘Racism without Racists’ | Blake, CNN, 201430. Creating Inclusive College Classrooms | Sanders and Kardia, University of Michigan Center

for Research on Teaching and Learning, 199731. Healing the Wounds of Racism | Gray, LDS Church Blog, 201832. What Is Unconscious Bias? + Top Strategies to Help Avoid It | Blackman, Evantotuts, 201833. Witnesses Unto Me | Holland, LDS General Conference, April 200134. Healing the Wounds of Racism | Gray, LDS Church Blog, 201835. Healing the Wounds of Racism | Gray, LDS Church Blog, 201836. How to recognise and overcome your unconscious bias | Long, The Guardian, 201537. Prejudice and Racism, Year 2008—Still Going Strong: Research on Reducing Prejudice

With Recommended Methodological Advances | Utsey, Ponterotto, and Porter, Journal ofCounseling and Development, 2008

38. What Is Unconscious Bias? + Top Strategies to Help Avoid It | Blackman, Evantotuts, 201839. Media Representations and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys | The

Opportunity Agenda, 201140. Hidden Racism: Do You Have Racial Biases? |Nova Reid, Restless Network, 201741. The Impact of Cognitive Stressors in the Emergency Department on Physician

Implicit Racial Bias | Johnson et al., Official Journal of the Society for Academic EmergencyMedicine, 2016

42. How to recognise and overcome your unconscious bias | Long, The Guardian, 201543. What Is Unconscious Bias? +Top Strategies to Help Avoid It | Blackman, Evantotuts, 201844. What Is Unconscious Bias? +Top Strategies to Help Avoid It | Blackman, Evantotuts, 201845. White Fragility | DiAngelo, Beacon Press, 201846. Hidden in Plain Sight: Cognitive Bias and Fast and Slow Thinking in Implicit Racial

Bias | Yim, Biola University's Center for Christian Thought, 2016

This research digest is produced by the BYUAntiracism Database Project. To view thedatabase, visit bit.ly/BYU-antiracism-database.To submit resources to the project, visitbit.ly/byuantiracism. To volunteer with theproject, email antiracismdb@gmail.com.

B Y U A N T I - R A C I S MD A T A B A S E P R O J E C T

ABOUT THE PROJECTThis compilation is a grassroots effortby faculty and students of BrighamYoung University. The goal of theproject is to provide resources in ahelpful, usable way to BYU faculty,staff, and student leaders who cantake action in their various spheres ofinfluence to empower BYU to eradicateits own institutional racism.

By referring or linking these resources,we do not endorse or guarantee thecontent or views of the authors. Thisdigest is not intended to be acomprehensive list of all resources onthe subject of antiracism. To learnmore about the project, please visitour FAQ.

GET INVOLVED

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