The video "How racism makes us sick" by David R. Williams (TEDMED, 2016) is a real eyeopener to a lot of us. We are aware that discrimination against Black Americans runs rampant in
our country. It does receive a lot of media attention recently with protests and
#BlackLivesMatter plastered all across our social media.
Among the things Williams said, two points have jumped out to me. One is implicit bias
or unconscious discrimination, and the other is the issue of residential segregation.
The concept of implicit bias or unconscious discrimination reminds me of another TED video I
watched. In “The danger of a single story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TEDGlobal, 2009),
Adichie talked about the bias or misconceptions her roommate and other people have against her
as a Nigerian woman. She stressed that these preconceptions brought about by the things we read
and watch are dangerous. It opens us to stereotypes, biases, and misconceptions that even the
most well-meaning person cannot escape. Once we meet someone belonging to this culture,
descent, or other attributes, we immediately think of what their story is, based on what we think
we know. As Williams said, for Black Americans, their single story is that they are poor, violent,
religious, lazy, cheerful, and dangerous (How Racism Makes Us Sick, 2016, 10:05–10:19). It is
not right to look at the Black American community as a whole and see only these attributes as
they are more than this.
We must combat implicit bias by being more well-informed about the community. We
should focus not only on the perceived negatives the White Americans have against Black
Americans and vice versa but also on the positive parts. So how do we do this? It is where the
issue of residential segregation comes in.
Segregation has long been a problem in the US, from the landmark case of Henderson v. United
States (339 U.S. 816 (1950), 1950) to another landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka (347 U.S. 483 (1954), 1954), to the issues we tackle today. While there has been a great
deal of change from the time these decisions were promulgated, discrimination still exists, and
there is what seems to be conscious and unconscious segregation between the two. An example
of this is residential segregation, another key point in William's speech. As Williams said, the
neighborhood where people live influences the opportunities that they have and can have a great
deal (How Racism Makes Us Sick, 2016, 08:25–08:40). How can Black Americans rise to their
potential when they are disadvantaged even by the mere fact of the color of their skin and where
they live? Segregation begets discrimination, and discrimination begets segregation, a
paradoxical cause, and effect. If we are taught by history one thing about racial segregation, it is
that we are better without it. We must learn to break the cycle of isolation and misconceptions.
We should strive to know more about each other and break the chains of stereotypes than letting
the same negative concepts be fostered. With unity comes understanding and change.
References:
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). (1954, May 17). Justia Law.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/347/483/
Henderson v. United States, 339 U.S. 816 (1950). (1950, June 5). Justia Law.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/339/816/
How racism makes us sick. (2016, November). [Video]. TED Talks.
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_r_williams_how_racism_makes_us_sick/transcript?refe
rrer=playlist-the_link_between_health_and_racism&language=en
TEDGlobal. (2009, July). The danger of a single story [Video]. TED Talks.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/tra
nscript?language=en