Vernā Myers: How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them.

Changing the Conversation and Preventing Another Ferguson

 

Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable.

Vernā Myers’ TED Talk from November 2014 pushes us to identify our biases and take control of them. She challenges us to try 3 things:

1). Get out of denial. The mentality that “we don’t have a biased bone in our body” is just something we tell ourselves to feel good. We all possess implicit biases and the first step is understanding this to be true.

2). Move toward young black men, instead of away from them. Myers tells us to walk toward our discomfort. How can we change the institutions of society if we continue to feed into our stereotypes and discomfort? We should make ourselves go deeper – see the person in a more complete way, not just for the color of their skin.

3).  Ending biases. Why don’t biases die? We can only begin to end biases by teaching older generations that their stereotypes have no place in daily discussions and we teach our children that racism is not acceptable.

Myers’ talk is aimed toward pushing the audience to be part of the forces of change which stand up against racism. Changing our implicit associations of black men from negative associations, to positive ones.

How Can SDR Training Help Counteract These Implicit Biases?

What makes SDR^® training so unique is its foundation in the notion that heightened awareness leads to prevention, and that prevention is the key to effectively keeping people safe. The SDR proactive approach means that all measures are taken with the goal of preventing crimes or terrorist actions before the event occurs. As SDR awareness relies on behavioral indicators and analysis to identify threats, the program and training actually negates ethnic profiling practices in those using it.

SDR training gives trainees the nuanced tools to better understand their surroundings and to make knowledge-based decisions. The SDR program enables users to recognize cases of potential violence, public disorder, illicit activities or lethal attacks, based on the training the program provides through behavioral analysis. SDR inherently negates ethnic profiling as the training teaches to look for abnormal behaviors rather than suspects.

SDR prevents illicit activities from minor crime to large-scale attacks by searching for abnormalities. Unique SDR operational tools such as the Bar of Normality^®, the Artificial Gut Feeling^®, and the SDR Fishnet Matrix^® embolden trainees with an understanding of human behavior that allows them to detect deviant behavior in varying environments.

Taking Myers’ 3-step advice to “walk boldly toward” our biases can serve the purpose of diminishing the power of bias in our lives and straying from coloring our judgments in the future. SDR training can further enhance our ability to more effectively search for abnormalities rather than suspects, and give citizens the right to be able to approach their law enforcement officials or peers for help, without fear of bias.