Brushing Away Bias: Embracing Imperfection in Race Conversations

Isla D

This factsheet summarizes Jay Smooth’s 2011 TEDx Talk. It discusses how the topic of race is often shied away from, or when conversations do occur, they are unproductive and can garner defensiveness. Smooth suggests a “dental hygiene paradigm” to describe race-talk as an ongoing process that requires upkeep and leaves room for mistakes. Understanding race as a complex social construction can help strike productive conversations.

Download

References

Smooth, J. (2011, November 13). TEDxHampshireCollege – Jay Smooth – How I learned to stop worrying and love discussing race [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbdxeFcQtaU.

Source Authors

Jay Smooth

Keywords

Acknowledging Mistakes, American, Antiracist, Antiracist ethic, Attack on Character, Bias, Confronting Bias, Critique, Defensiveness, Dental Hygiene Paradigm, Dismantling Binary, Feedback, Good Antiracist, Good-bad-binary, Growth, Imperfection, Imperfections, Inevitable Mistakes, Mindset, Ongoing Mindfulness, Pockets of Prejudice, Practice, Prejudice, Race, Race Conversations, Race Discourse, Race Interactions, Racial Conversations, Racism, Receiving Critique, Recognize Mistakes, Shift in Perspective, TED Talk, Unconscious Bias, Unconscious Process

Themes

Antiracism