Kevin Nadal, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, researches the effects of microaggressions. As the world examines systemic racism, he tells NPRLifeKit it's important to confront the personal ways it can emerge.
"We navigate all of these things in our lives," Nadal says."For many of us on a daily, hourly basis. And for some of us where we might not even recognize that we are navigating them or even perpetrating them."
Oftentimes, people don't even realize that they're doing those sorts of things. And in fact, if you were to stop them and say, 'Why did you just move?' They would deny it because they don't recognize that their behaviors communicate their racial biases.If someone says something racist to me, what does their intent matter?
So let's say you get into a conversation about current events. And the conversation turns toward police and racism and police brutality. Maybe the conversation gets a little tense and you can sense that a microaggression might be coming. What are your options then? You don't have to be of a certain group to understand that something is unjust. It's really about learning how to be empathetic to people. And also just to be really aware and knowledgeable of history. This country is founded on racism toward indigenous people and racism toward black people, and that's not new.
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