The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression?

     I have an incident of prejudice that happened this week.  My boyfriend’s son: who is African-American, went back into Lowes to get his father’s notebook.  The Lowes employee questioned why he had the notebook and made him open it to make sure that there was nothing inside the notebook.  Now let me state that he was in the store with his father and my father: who are both white, so the employee saw him with them.

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice, and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

      I diminished equity in the fact that he was not treated equally.  As he stated, “if I had been white they would not have questioned what I was doing”

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

I feel anger because of him being treated this way.  He is a young African-American boy who was adopted by a white family.  He should not be experiencing prejudice.  He should have been able to walk into Lowes and get his father’s notebook without any questions asked.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

     I would change the way the Lowes employee treated my boyfriend’s son.  If I had been there, I would have confronted the store manager about the way he was treated.  I would also send my nephew: who is white, in there to get the same notebook to see if he had any problems retrieving it.