Introduction
Jennifer Eberhardt presents the issue of racial bias in American society. She asserts that even today, the problem of institutional racism is present in governmental agencies, police departments, and schools (Eberhardt, 2020). I have a personal connection to this problem since many of my friends and neighbors faced discrimination in school, work, and the criminal justice system. For example, my friend’s father was once falsely accused of theft of property of a white woman, which was fortunately disproven in court, but he spent three months in a prison cell. The unfairness of this situation was that a similar theft episode from a black man several months later remained unresolved.
Discussion
Eberhardt gave sufficient background information about the issue of structural racism. In fact, she presented the example from her personal life as well as data from research about racial discrimination in schools, police departments, and the judicial system.
Throughout her talk, Eberhardt provides evidence for almost all information. The sources are mainly examples from her life or research projects in her laboratory. When Eberhardt used data from secondary sources, she mentioned organizations that conducted a particular study. However, some statistical information is not verbally cited in the talk; still, clarification is provided in the script. The evidence seems to advance the theme of the presentation by reassuring the audience that the speaker makes properly supported claims.
Apart from presenting the problem, Eberhardt offers a solution to this social issue. Specifically, she proposes to reduce the number of unnecessary stops of black citizens by police officers. Furthermore, she suggests that technology can be used to control the way officers talk to people of color to ensure equal and just treatment.
Conclusion
The specific social implication of this talk is that the results of the studies mentioned by Eberhardt can be used to improve the attitude towards African Americans in various institutions. Indeed, teachers, police officers, and representatives of governmental bodies should be trained to be more empathetic and respectful to black people. Racial bias can be eliminated, but it requires a conscious and mindful approach and effort.
Reference
Eberhardt, J. L. (2020). How racial bias works – and how to disrupt it [Video]. TED. Web.