Implicit bias and racism in higher education

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20324113

Abstract We have made substantial progress since the 1960's in our battle to fight traditional, intentional racism, where Black people are treated differently, solely because of preconceived notions based on the color of their skin. At the same time, we have made very little progress with implicit racism or bias, and structural racism, where unintentional, unconscious, but still damaging actions, views, or behavior toward Black people exist for the same reasons. This exploratory case study, through interviews and student focus groups at a large, public university that had experienced significant growth in its minority enrollment, sought to answer: 1) how black students experience this racism; 2) how it has impacted them; and 3) how universities can examine those experiences and solicit the help of students who experience this racism. Critical Race Theory (CRT), the theoretical framework through which this study took place, asserts that racism is endemic, including in higher education. In higher education, implicit bias and racism is surely endemic, despite structural diversity, with Black students being isolated and marginalized, thought of as lazy or unable to do the academic work necessary to succeed. Findings revealed that campuses, because of this bias, have become self-segregated, that the university did not invest the energy or funds necessary to make success happen - in cross-racial interaction, intergroup dialogue, safe spaces, and support services to address and eliminate the isolation and marginalization felt by Black students; and that efforts must be made to incorporate standard procedures and templates of action that can battle and eradicate implicit racism. These findings led to six conclusions: 1) primarily white institutions have little credibility with black students today; 2) structural diversity alone is an impediment to quelling the hostility between white and black students; 3) until the university makes a commitment to hiring staff and faculty that look more like the student body, black students will continue to struggle; 4) cross-racial interaction, though helpful, is not sufficient to address the problem; 5) we have not yet figured out how to address this issue of implicit racism in our universities; and 6) without dramatic action, self-segregation will continue to be the norm. Keywords: Race, racism, higher education, cross-racial interaction, implicit bias, structural racism, intergroup dialogue, colorblindness, isolation, marginalization, self-segregation