This past Tuesday at the Lynn Museum, a panel of diverse professionals from varying ethnic backgrounds spoke their truth regarding experiences with bias in the United States during a Forum on Prejudice sponsored by the Greater Lynn Bar Association and chaired by Attorney James J. Carrigan.
Among those panelists there were several that I, as a Latina who has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years, felt represented me — regardless of the ethnic background of the speakers.
To me, the message of the forum was clear: We need to create spaces in our communities to speak up and address the issues surrounding bias that we still face today.
Despite all the years we have fought for rights and the abolishment of segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement within this country, for everyone who came here for a better future and brought along diversity in ethnic backgrounds, there is still, without a doubt, much work to be done.
Among the 14 speakers who shared their experiences Tuesday, Judge Ina Howard-Hogan’s speech resonated with me the most simply because I believe that in any setting — professional or personal — we should always consider how our actions impact the people around us.
Judge Howard-Hogan highlighted the strategies every judge uses and instructs jurors to use in order to resolve a case based upon the evidence and the law without sympathy, bias, or prejudice.
“Slow down, do not make rushed decisions,” she said. “Hasty decisions are most likely to reflect stereotypes or hidden biases. Second, keep an open mind. Avoid drawing conclusions until the end of the case.
“As you listen to the testimony of the people involved in the case, consider them as individuals rather than numbers of a particular group,” she added. “Finally, I might ask myself, Would I view the evidence differently if the people were from different groups, such as different racial, ethnic, or gender-identity groups?”
Judge Howard-Hogan’s advice does not only apply to a courtroom; it can also be applied to our personal lives to help us gain awareness of how easy it is to judge individuals based on their race, their ethnic background, or their gender without even realizing it.
Judge Howard-Hogan concluded by saying, “It shows how important it is for us to recognize that we all have these biases.”
Regardless of whether you are Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous, Jewish, Black, or white, we all have these biases.
I was raised by my grandfather from the age of 11. His grandparents were originally from Spain, and they shaped my grandfather’s views on his own Hispanic culture, as well as his views on Black people. Without realizing it, ideas that were passed down through generations influenced the way I viewed my cultural background.
My grandfather would not allow me or my sister to date a Black man. According to him, we are very different culturally and our families would not have blended.
Even though to this day neither my sister nor I have dated Black men (honestly, I think we were both traumatized by the long speeches we would have to sit through at our dinner table), I have worked to address the stereotypes that were taught to me in my upbringing. I understand that someone’s race does not define how they treat women. Not being the same does not mean not being compatible. Every Black man is different, just as every Latina is.
We need to unite together as a whole and cherish our cultural differences, regardless of our backgrounds or the stereotypes we have been taught.
Even though discussions about prejudice mostly target bias from one ethnicity to another, such as white Americans having biases against African Americans, I feel it’s important for me to highlight that those same biases exist among our own people. Latinos can hold stereotypes about Latinos; African Americans can hold stereotypes about African Americans.
Being born in Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican father and a Dominican mother, I saw the biases among our own people based on our cultural differences. The way Dominicans and Puerto Ricans would joke about our own accents, the slang that we use, and how we behave were among those biases. Now, how can we ask to feel included in shared spaces, when we don’t create that inclusion among our own people, within our own spaces?
Even though Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are neighboring countries, you will often hear that Dominicans and Puerto Ricans don’t get along. The rivalry began over a century ago when Puerto Ricans were granted U.S citizenship. Dominicans, on the other hand, struggled to obtain that same citizenship.
Since then, the rivalry has been endless. Dominicans flooded Puerto Rico and were considered to be taking over Puerto Rican jobs. As a child, I witnessed the racial comments and the arguments over who is “better” from my own family, friends, and people I knew.
When Judge Howard-Hogan concluded her speech by saying, “What you choose to consume will affect your implicit bias,” I immediately felt that even though I didn’t choose what to consume because I was exposed to certain ideas, the implicit biases I unintentionally inherited that influence my behavior are my responsibility. I choose how I react and how I treat others regardless of their diverse cultural backgrounds. In my book, it all starts with me and how I can make this world better for all.
Now, in order to make a difference within us, our homes, and our communities, we need to continue to have these uncomfortable conversations. The conversation inspired by the Forum on Prejudice should continue in order to create spaces in which our community members can speak and where eventually, actions will be taken and goals will be met.
Alexandra Rodriguez is a reporter for Essex Media Group and can be reached at [email protected].
