Science Says We May Be Predisposed To Racism

Obama was elected twice. Ben Carson is surging in the polls.  From the outside looking in, race relations in America are on the mend, right?In 2015 about the worst thing you can be called is a racist.  By definition a racist is someone who holds “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human racial groups determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others. “

So great is the fear of being labeled a racist that people with legitimate questions and concerns for the actions or individuals of another race are often muzzled into silence.  That’s as wrong as racism itself.  But do the people who seem to see racism behind every tree have a point?  Well, maybe.

Several studies, done since the 1990s, suggest that the human brain uses stereotypes without our awareness or even our consent.  It would be appear to be a holdover from our earliest survival instincts.  The human brain wants to assess as quickly as possible whether new people are "safe" or "like me," using stereotypes as a type of shortcut.

A University of Virgina psychology professor and his colleagues reported that 68% of white participants who took the implicit association test for racial bias demonstrated negative implicit attitudes toward black and dark skinned people.

A 2010 follow up study  showed that little has changed, despite the US election of its first black president. (Quartz)