Education: Unlearning Racial Biases

The article, 'Unreasonable Fear Blocks Our View of Black Humanity' Natalie Moore (2018) presents a poignant view that embodies the harsh realities of how starkly devalued Black people remains in life and death. Time and again we see how deftly a Black man's innocence can be distorted into one that paints him as the perpetual flawed character prone to criminality - one deserving of the brutality committed against him. Indeed, if there is no outward reason that one can use to justify his abuse - something will materialize. Whether it is the blunt that he was caught smoking in high school or a minor brush with the law at some point in his life - the story of him as a flawed character becomes a justification for his demise. The fact that he was unlawfully gunned down, arrested, beaten, convicted and a plethora of other abuses that many Blacks encounter on a routine basis becomes the background story.

The distorted narratives are influential contributions in desensitizing barbaric acts against Blacks on several fronts. For one, they invoke the dehumanizing ideologies that already exists. As such it is not difficult to convince many that Black men/ women and other minority groups deserve the cruelty they receive and are guilty of the crimes for which they have been accused no matter evidence to the contrary.

It is essential that history, as it happened, is taught across disciplines (in classrooms, homes, organizations, government.) Racism is a sickness stitched in the fabrics, cracks, and crevices of our psyches. It is imperative that as a nation, we unlearn all that history has taught us about ourselves and each other. Education is crucial in this regard. If we do not know ourselves - how can we know others? 

Moore, Natalie (2018) Unreasonable Fear Blocks Our View of Black Humanity