In the Ted Talk, “Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally”, Nita Mosby Tyler talks about her experiences witnessing and experiencing injustices starting at a young age. She goes on to talk about how justice needs an unlikely ally, like the example she used of John F. Kennedy, to make real change. While we would like to think that the average person supporting and fighting for injustices in the LGBTQ+ community, racial inequality, or gender inequality, would be enough, the impact would be more significant with an unlikely ally. She also talks about how the people who are experiencing the injustices need to accept help being offered, otherwise the change will take too long. Everyone has to be willing to fight in order to make a change, it can’t just be one side. People can be inspired to fight for injustice and inequality by witnessing others fighting.

The podcast, “The Air We Breathe: Implicit Bias and Police Shootings” talks about how the individual mind sits in society. The way psychologists learned about people’s lack of conscious awareness was through the Implicit Associate Test. This test showed how people grouped things in their minds. One example was when people were told to group pictures of Black people and bad objects or sayings together and White people and good things together versus Black people with good things and White people with bad things. The data showed that people quickly associated Black people with the bad things and White people with the good things, taking longer to make the connections when the bad and good items were switched.

The podcast showed that idea of Black people with good things doesn’t come naturally and easy to people, causing them to take longer to make the connection. Even though people might not believe that statement, there are subconsciously aware (implicit bias) of the stereotypes instilled into their minds by society. In the past we believed the solution to the implicit bias was to blame and remove individual people. Social scientists claim that removing individual people is not the solution and it won’t change how society thinks and acts. Individuals can do their part to limit their own bias, but society in general has to work together to fill the bias itself.

While I have always been believed in accepting and respecting people for who they are, I know I can do more to support and fight with the different communities. I can show up to more protests and rallies as well as doing my own research and educating myself. It’s easy to watch from the sidelines but getting involved makes the difference. Having a sibling with a disability has opened up my eyes to all the communities that need the support of allies like me. It is easier and more convenient for me to fight and support the disability community because I have a personal experience with someone who is a member of it. I think 2020 has exposed everyone to all the pain, anger, and frustration people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and other communities have been experiencing on a daily basis. Like the people in the Ted Talk and podcast were preaching, if we as a community could eliminate the bias towards different minorities, races, and genders that has been engrained into our minds by society, there is a chance to make a real change.