Unconscious Bias Is a Human Condition

The unconscious bias that plagues our police departments is the same unconscious bias that plagues business in the form of employee oppression and burnout, that plagues academia in the form of social promotion and fixed mindset, that plagues law in the form of poetic injustice and that plagues politics in the form of disenfranchisement and voter suppression. Each industry has also attempted to correct the negative effects of unconscious bias with leadership development in business, Montessori method and active learning in academia, restorative justice in law, and voter participation and town halls in politics. The reason that each of these efforts is still in its infancy is that our understanding of the rules of unconscious bias and the behaviors that stem from that unconscious bias have been incompletely understood until now. Good people like yourself and like me have unconscious bias; having unconscious bias is a human condition. But those of us who learn to recognize and overcome our unconscious bias become more impactful and powerful stewards of society.