Speaker A
Mikayla is a seventh grader at a majority white middle school.
Explores subconscious racial bias in children through school scenarios, highlighting implicit biases and the need for better diversity education.
Key Takeaways
- Subconscious racial bias is present in children and influences their social perceptions.
- Implicit bias is more subtle but persistent compared to explicit racism.
- Educational and parental intervention can help children recognize and overcome these biases.
- Societal influences like media and environment contribute to the development of racial bias.
- Progress has been made in reducing explicit racism, but implicit biases require ongoing attention.
Summary
- Children's perceptions of peers change based on race, revealing subconscious racial biases.
- Mikayla, a seventh grader, showed different interpretations of scenarios depending on the race of the children involved.
- About 24% of children, both white and African-American, favor their own race in social judgments.
- Biases were consistent across ages, school types, and racial demographics.
- Expert Dr. Melanie Killen explains these biases stem from societal messages at school, home, media, and online.
- Parents observing the test see it as a teachable moment to discuss racism and diversity with children.
- The video distinguishes between explicit racism, which has decreased, and implicit bias, which remains prevalent.
- Implicit biases operate subconsciously and influence behavior without conscious awareness.
- Addressing implicit bias is crucial for continued progress in racial equality.
- The content emphasizes judging individuals by character rather than skin color.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker B
Her responses completely changed depending on the race of the children in the picture.
Speaker C
Marcy and Renee are in school together and they're in the hallway and I'd like you to tell me what you think is happening in this picture.
Speaker Mikayla
She probably looks like she's going to steal it because Marcy's like, "Oh no, what happened?" and Renee's like, "Hey look, 20 bucks."
Speaker C
And so, do you think that Renee is doing something good, bad, or just neutral?
Speaker Mikayla
I think she, I don't, I think she's going to take the money.
Speaker C
Do you think that Renee and Marcy are likely to be friends or not?
Speaker Mikayla
Not really.
Speaker C
And what do you think about Marcy's parents? Do you think they'd be comfortable with her being friends with Renee or not?
Speaker Mikayla
Um, well, if they find out the situation that happened, they might be a little concerned about if Renee's a thief.
Speaker C
In this one we have Erica and Allison, and they're also in the hallway at school. Can you tell me what it seems is happening in this picture?
Speaker Mikayla
Allison looks like a sweet girl.
Speaker Mikayla
So, I think that she would pick up Erica's money and give it back to her.
Speaker C
Okay.
Speaker C
So then, do you think Allison's doing something good, bad, or neutral?
Speaker Mikayla
Um, pretty good.
Speaker C
And what about Allison and Erica? Do you think they're probably friends or not so much?
Speaker Mikayla
Yeah, they're probably friends.
Speaker C
Okay. Do you think Erica's parents would like it if she was friends with Allison?
Speaker Mikayla
Yeah.
Speaker B
Her responses, according to our expert, Dr. Melanie Killen, could indicate a subconscious racial bias, a bias that kids develop from messages they hear at school, at home, the characters in the TV shows they watch, and what they see online.
Speaker B
And Mikayla's reversing the scenarios based on race wasn't unique. 24%, almost a quarter of all children, both white and African-American, saw their own race more positively than the other race.
Speaker B
And this happened across all ages and all school types, no matter the racial demographics.
Speaker D
What do you think happened in this picture?
Speaker E
Um,
Speaker E
they got a bust.
Speaker D
And what do you think is going to happen next?
Speaker E
Brenda's going to help her for books.
Speaker D
So, do you think that Randy's doing something that's okay, not okay,
Speaker D
or kind of in the middle?
Speaker F
Not okay.
Speaker D
Not okay.
Speaker D
Is Andre doing something good, bad, or just okay?
Speaker F
Good.
Speaker G
Mikayla's answers were very much in line with her.
Speaker B
Mikayla's parents, Jim and Jennifer, agreed to watch their daughter's test and talk about her responses.
Speaker Mikayla
Well, if they find out the situation that happened, they might be a little concerned about if Renee's a thief.
Speaker Mikayla
Allison looks like a sweet girl.
Speaker Mikayla
So, I think that she would pick up Erica's money and give it back to her.
Speaker G
When you see that, what goes through your mind?
Speaker G
Is there a conversation you want to have with her?
Speaker G
Is there stuff you want to know more about?
Speaker Jennifer
I I would definitely want to pursue that conversation with her and find out why her perception was different based upon the color of the of the girl's skin.
Speaker Jennifer
What changed in that scenario in her head?
Speaker G
It's a teachable moment.
Speaker Jim
It's a, you know, it's a realization like, oh, maybe we have to do,
Speaker Jim
you know, a better job or uh focus more on um distinguishing like uh about racism and and, you know, diversity.
Speaker Jim
And just um influence our kids and and let them know that you have to judge a person by their character,
Speaker Jim
not their skin color.
Speaker B
And it's this possible subconscious racial bias versus explicit bias, actually consciously thinking and verbalizing racism,
Speaker B
that our expert says shows how far we need to go, but also how far we've come.
Speaker Dr. Melanie Killen
Explicit racism and prejudice has diminished dramatically over 50 years.
Speaker Dr. Melanie Killen
But what remains is more the implicit, the implicit biases and uh the implicit
Speaker Dr. Melanie Killen
forms of racism and prejudice.
Speaker Dr. Melanie Killen
And those are the things that we're not aware of.
Speaker Dr. Melanie Killen
The things that we do when we don't realize it because it seems that
Speaker Dr. Melanie Killen
it's these implicit biases that are still what we really have to work on.
Topics:subconscious racial biasimplicit biaschildrenracial prejudicediversity educationDr. Melanie Killensocial perceptionracismCNNmiddle school
