NAACP CRISIS MAGAZINE: NATIONAL RECKONING ON RACE CHANGING CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS IMPLICIT BIAS

Acclaimed Anti-Bias Trainer Dr. Bryant T. Marks Writes that Whites are More Open to Discussing Race Issues After the Police Killing of George Floyd

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, April 26, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bryant T. Marks, Ph.D., one of the nation’s leading implicit bias counselors, writes in the NAACP Crisis Magazine that the nation is opening to more frank, truthful conversations about race and topics like unconscious bias. He also notes that corporate America is demonstrating a new sensitivity towards these issues, including a willingness to relinquish profits for opportunities to improve racial equity and inclusion.

In his NAACP Crisis Magazine article, Dr. Marks wrote that more corporations and organizations seek anti-bias education and training than ever before, especially senior leadership, management, staff and those in public-facing roles.

“There is no better example of the corporate commitment than The E.W. Scripps Company airing my implicit bias training session in a one-hour, commercial-free special in March on television stations in their 41 local markets across the country,” he wrote. “It was an unprecedented response to this moment. But here we are, a nation sharply divided at its poles but with a strong desire by many to be better.”

Dr. Marks, founder and chief equity officer of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity (NTIRE), provides training for institutions and organizations, including police officers, educators, healthcare providers, corporations and public officials. He wrote that there has been a different atmosphere during these anti-bias counseling sessions after the protests and demonstrations against police shootings of people of color and other racial injustices.

“I've adopted a less guarded approach in training sessions,” Dr. Marks wrote. “When discussing historical patterns of bias prior to George Floyd's death, I would define and discuss a core set of concepts: diversity, equity, inclusion, stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, implicit bias, explicit bias, racism, and white privilege. Because of the events that have transpired, more awareness of discriminatory acts, the divisive presidential campaign, and the January 6th insurrection, today I can talk bluntly, from an educational perspective, about white supremacy, anti-racism, and the United States' complicated racial history without turning off a majority of the audience. There are usually some people who struggle with these concepts, but it seems that observing their colleagues who remain engaged opens them up as well.”

The openness is key to successful sessions. “Candid conversations about these topics put individuals and organizations in a position to more effectively mitigate the potential impact of implicit bias on various outcomes,” he wrote. “To this end, there has to be an acknowledgement of certain fundamental truths regarding the racial/ethnic history of the United States. First, the U.S. is not a nation of immigrants. Native Americans were already here when Europeans arrived, and Black Americans were forced to come here against their will; that is not immigration. We are a nation of foreigners, with the exception of indigenous people. To call enslaved people immigrants is offensive.”

Founded in 2016, NTIRE is affiliated with Morehouse College, where Dr. Marks is an alum and a tenured professor of psychology. NTIRE’S training principles comprise a unique combination of social and cognitive science and the tenets of Martin Luther King Jr.’s version of the Beloved Community, while engaging the participants in an interactive process.

To further emphasize the need to address unconscious bias, NTIRE has launched an interactive social media campaign #ImplicitBias #SeeME on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The highlight is a video with people from all walks of life asking others to #SeeME.

The campaign #Implicit Bias #SeeME is making people more aware of their biases in hopes of changing them. Celebrities, such as Real Housewives of Atlanta star Marlo Hampton, award winning-actor Clifton Powell and business and technology leader Dr. Randal Pinkett have joined the campaign. NTIRE is compelling people of all races to acknowledge #ImplicitBias and combat it by posting on social media their pictures and “#SeeME” as the campaign emphasizes seeing people for who they really are.

“In our #SeeME campaign, we want folks to look past race and gender and look at the person, look at (another) human, as an individual,” Dr. Marks said in an interview with TMZ Live.

###

(For broadcast or print interviews with Dr. Marks, please contact Michael K. Frisby 202-625-4328 or mike@frisbyassociates.com).

About NTIRE
The National Training Institute on Race and Equity (NTIRE) is a social-educational entity. NTIRE assists individuals and organizations with understanding, identifying and managing the content, skills, and behavior needed to create diverse social and professional communities that are inclusive and equitable. Built on a unique combination of social science, the tenets of Martin Luther King Jr.’s version of the Beloved Community, and engaging and interactive training, NTIRE uses non-judgmental, yet evidence-based approaches to shed light on difficult and sensitive topics to enhance interpersonal and intergroup relations. A portion of all revenue is donated to a scholarship fund at Morehouse College to assist young males with immense potential with reaching their academic and career goals.

Michael K. Frisby
Frisby & Associates Inc
+1 202-625-4328
mike@frisbyassociates.com

NTIRE'S #SeeME social media campaign