Racial Microaggressions

...Have you ever been the only African American person in a class and a so-called "black issue" comes up and suddenly you feel all eyes are on you-- that you are supposed to have the "appropriate response"?

...Have you ever watched the news and a particularly violent crime is described and your first reaction is: "God, I hope the perpetrator is not black?"

...Have you ever been in a store, bar, or restaurant and felt you were next in line for service only to see that a white patron got served instead?

Racial Microaggression:
subtle insults (verbal, nonverbal and/or visual) directed toward people of color, often automatically or unconsciously, in everyday exchanges.Their ambiguity is what makes them so vexing — the recipient does not know for certain whether the racial microaggression is a deliberate slight or not, making it difficult to know how to appropriately react.

Videos Used In Presentation:


Avenue Q: "Everybody's a Little Bit Racist"



10 Most Racist Moments In TV



Margaret Cho On Race



Our Duty



Racial Microaggressions are NOT merely innocent oversights!

Derald Wing Sue, professor of education at Columbia University's Teachers College: "I see a huge irony. While hate crimes receive the most attention, the greatest damage to the life experiences of people of color is from racial microaggression."

Such racial "slights" can be VERY damaging when multiplied by the thousands of times they may occur over the course of a lifetime.

Chester Pierce: "One must not look for the gross and obvious. The subtle, cumulative miniassault is the substance of today's racism."