Hi everyone, welcome back to the Step Outside Podcast. This is your host, Kristi Kiel-Blackman, with the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. We are on Zoom once again, but today is a little different. We are not featuring one of our grad students from the department.
Instead, we have a special guest from the Herbert College of Agriculture. I would like to introduce everyone to Sharon Couch. Sharon is our coordinator of Student Life and Diversity at the Herbert College of Agriculture. She's a bit of a Renaissance woman.
She's also working on her PhD in Black Feminist Sports Psychology. She's also an Olympian and she's a mother, and she probably does motivational speaking too, because that's another one of her gifts. So welcome, Sharon. Thanks for being here.
Oh, thank you so much for having me. You know, most of my favorite people are in this department. So, yes, we knew that. Yes.
Sharon is here to help us talk about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. And before we get started, we do want to give a few disclaimers. Sharon, even though she is in charge of Student Life and Diversity at our college, she doesn't have all the answers. And I don't have all the answers.
This isn't a conversation about finger pointing. It's Sharon and me working to facilitate a conversation that we think we need to have to move forward. So, we want everyone to be willing to examine their own beliefs and behaviors. Sharon, anything else that we need to add?
Yeah, I think all of our experiences are unique and they are personal. But now that that policy and politics are involved, I think we have to be open to be uncomfortable a little bit, like not really know the answers or the thing. With all that being said, let's jump in. Also, today we're going to focus on implicit social cognition.
Put simply, that's the fancy term for unconscious bias, which is the cognitive process that occurs literally outside of our conscious awareness. And it tints everything that we see based on our life experiences. These unconscious biases affect our attitudes and they create stereotypes without us actually knowing that we're doing that. Sharon, tell us a little bit more about how unconscious bias shows up in our everyday lives.
Yeah, so my experience as a researcher really prepares me more to talk about unconscious bias or implicit social cognition more than anything else. Because when you are doing research of any kind, as a researcher, there's only one truth and it's objective and you're supposed to be as objective as possible. And we know the opposite of being objective is being biased. But it's a funny thing with bias because we think that it is something that we think about and then make a decision about.
Thus, we want to immediately not really talk about or think about our biases. But as a researcher, a qualitative researcher in which I am, then you have to always look at what you are bringing into the research, how what you're bringing into it, can impact the change, it limits it, move it, or not represent what your participants is telling you at all. So these unconscious biases are running around in our subconscious mind and they're happening without us knowing and actually scientists have found that they run counter to what we say we believe. For instance, researchers have found that if you have a white patient and a black patient with the same condition, most of the time the doctors are going to give more pain management medication to the white patients over the black patients.
Even though if you ask them, they would say, oh yes, I'm treating everyone the same. So that's an example of how biases are running around in our brains when we don't even know it. Again, this isn't a finger pointing activity, everyone has bias. Sharon has bias, I have bias.
Everyone you've ever met has bias. Sharon, how do we work to stop them if they're running around in our unconscious mind? Right, the goal we do. The goal is not to stop them.
Biases, they help us to be more efficient. The brain is, it is the most amazing miraculous thing because it works perfectly when it works. And what I mean by that is the brain takes our hearts, our emotions, our cognitions, the way that we think and our context, our social environment, and how that impacts. And it embeds into our processes, ways of communicating, ways of responding, and ways of processing information that is the most efficient so that we can move along throughout our life in a way that's not stopping us every millisecond in order to make decisions and choices about what we're going to do, who we're going to talk to, if we're going to get out of the car or not, if we're going to walk down the street or not.
Does that make sense? So when does it get us in trouble? Well, it gets us in trouble when we refuse to acknowledge that we have them. It is really one of those things, you know, if you go back to the emperor has no clothes, right?
So that folktale, he looks at himself and he sees that, you know, because he's used his imagination. Yet he's naked and he walks out and he gets ridiculed because he believes a certain thing and he refuses to move off of it. When we say the word biases, we don't see the good part. We only look at the outcome of what biases do and what they can create.
Bioses can perpetuate, these are some new terms, systemic racism, systemic sexism, institutionalized ways of discriminating against one group over another because of socialized norms and practices that may have in the past been legal laws like Jim Crow laws in the South that segregated whites and blacks or when women didn't have the right to vote because they thought they were the weaker sex and that they couldn't think in the same ways that men could. These are all ways that biases, if they are perpetuated institutionally, which means you have a job, if you don't check your bias and then when you're hiring someone, you hire the one that's more socially desirable to you because of the biases you hold and you hold them because you don't know you have them. What's the first step? If you don't know we have them, but we want to be more aware.
You know, I just think really being willing to listen to this podcast. I think the fact that you're leaning forward in hearing that word and then not just turning off. So that's the first thing is acknowledgement. The second thing is action.
And this is kind of my own thing that I've come up with from my work. What does action look like? I think being reflective, reflecting on what you hear today, on the thoughts that may come. You know, last year for our faculty, I did a talk about implicit bias.
One of the things that it showed me and the faculty was exactly how association works. And when we want our biases to just stop and not be there, what we're doing is we're saying, brain, I don't want you to work properly because when things pop in your brain, that means your brain is working. It doesn't mean that you're a racist, that you're a sexist or whatever it is. Your brain is noticing patterns, making generalizations and being efficient.
Remember, there's two sides to every coin. But if you never turn the coin over, you will not know what's on that other side. And it's imperative with the way bias operates unconsciously for us to know what's on the other side of that coin. Then we can be action oriented and make choices that either go with our bias because it's a bias that is a good bias that will not discriminate or marginalize or create injustice.
Or we can say, you know what? You know, I was thinking that this person might hurt me because of an experience I had when I was a kid. You know, I'm going to hear this person out and I'm going to develop a relationship because I'm biased because of this. So really speaking a little bit more deeply as these things pop up and not just dismissing them.
And then number three, after we've acknowledged, after we take as an action, I think accountability. I think holding yourself accountable, being uncomfortable, being inconvenienced, and at times being a little bit lost because you don't know what to do next. Being willing to reach out, I'm able to have conversations with and talk through without embarrassment, without shame because I hold biases just like everyone else that's been born, a human. I know she mentioned this, but I'm African American and female.
So there's some intersectional identity issues that I work with every day. It's not my color that makes me conscious. It's my character. Character is not put upon you.
Character is built through dismantling, through deconstruction and through constructing your life, your heart, your mind in the way that is going to contribute to society. I love so many things that you just said. Particularly, I love that you said it's okay to be lost. I think a lot of people right now do feel lost.
I have felt lost in talking about the Russian inclusion issues because I don't have all the answers and sometimes I don't know how to move forward. But I do think it's important that we talk about it. We talk about that I don't know how to move forward and I'm seeking advice from you. Right, yes.
And understand that the foundation of biases come from our social environment. Understand that the things that are being discriminated against, the reason why people are in the streets, the reason why people of all colors, kinds, and social classes are finally saying this is enough, was because the foundation of how our country was founded was founded with principles that privileged some and disadvantaged others. We don't have anything to do with that today. However, we do have a responsibility as a part of the society that when injustices rise up, that we take a decent look at what our part might be in moving forward.
That's a longer conversation. And that's a longer conversation. But what I think is really important for us to know is that if we were raised in a society that says, the dominant culture decides what is knowledge, what is science, what is real, what is not, what has power, what has privilege. And that is one group of people said or unsaid, supported by the legal and economic institutions that drive the country.
And you know, it's kind of like what I was telling you not long ago, Christy. I was saying that born in America is kind of like tea, ice tea. You take tea leaves and you take water. And when you combine those things, those two entities, that can stand on their own, by the way, when you combine those, they cannot be uncombined.
They are forever together. So if one of us has been affected by racism, sexism, ableism, any isms that you can come up with, if one of us has been affected, then we all are infected. Knowledge is what will help us to not be lost. Listening to these podcasts, having conversations like this, we must educate ourselves.
And now since we have social media, since we have these types of programs, it is available to you. It will be easy, no. Will it be convenient? No.
Will you feel like a fish out of water? Yes. Because we are trying to change this tea. We're actually trying to dump it out.
And that's hard because we need each other to move forward. It's challenging. And I'm glad that you mentioned race relations is obviously a really big issue. It doesn't just stop there.
We're also talking about abilities versus disabilities and sexual orientation, gender identity, even the neighborhood you grew up. Religion, the state you grew up in. Yes. So this is a really broad category that we're trying to essentially boil down into one bucket for this podcast, which is really hard to do.
But yeah, it's so broad. And there are so many ways that we can work to be more aware of how we react in all different situations. Right. Because if we don't get to our subconscious associations that happen within the social context, then we will not have the opportunity to really change.
We cannot change in a vacuum. We are not an island, obviously. We are part of a big old melting pot. But that melting pot in terms of economic, social, and political power rests with one part of that pot.
And we have to share. The reason why unconscious bias is such an important starter, and that's why we're starting here, is because once you're able to admit that the mental representations of objects or concepts in your memory, it's just an indicator. It's kind of like when a light comes on in your car. That indicator light gives you information.
And denial, I'm afraid to say, I think that's our biggest enemy right now. I think our biggest enemy and barrier to change is because people hadn't recognized it in their own lives, because they were not exposed to it, nor it hasn't happened to them. It is sometimes easier to take a look, kind of looking in a fishbowl, and thinking that it's not going to touch you. It's not going to impact you.
But like I've said, we're all tea. Like we are all combined. All different kinds of colors, and creeds, and ethnicities can be racist. They can be sexist.
Women can be as sexist as men are, because it's not about your gender. It's about what you're doing. Oppression is another word that needs to become a part of our vocabulary, because we're not just talking about people being in convenience. We're talking about populations of people being oppressed economically, racially, socially, sexually.
And in order to be a part of the society, we have to see what our part is. So Sharon, I know the Institute of Agriculture has made some commitments to address diversity and equity and inclusion issues. What are some of the things that are happening maybe at the Institute level or at the college level? Right, so I work at the college level, and I have a 30% appointment.
And so a lot of my energy goes towards working with our student population. And to be honest, the biggest thing that I do, I think, is our manners group, so minorities and ag and natural resources and related sciences. So having a student group that welcomes all, to be able to take advantage of career opportunities, internships, and professional development, that covers the entire gamut of what's offered. Dr.
Sharon Jean-Believe is my co-advisor, my faculty advisor for manners. And so having people who are committed to all of our students having access to opportunities for growth, I think is a huge thing. However, I've always said that a student organization is not a replacement for actual programming initiatives. So last year I developed the Herbert College Connections group, it was an early access group, where I invited our students of color and our underrepresented students to a 10-day experience before school started, so that they can get connected to themselves, their cohort, their college, faculty staff, and their community.
So we got to do things all over Knoxville. We went to the Beck Cultural Center, we went to IAMs, some local farms, and to some local high schools. But the thing that I wanted that we're introducing from a UTIA level this year, is an actual task force across the entire campus, UTIA. And they're taking some recommendations that Mike Jones and Doug Bonher and myself, we were the Diversity Action Task Force last year, where we came up with some recommendations about hiring someone who sold job it was to look at ways that we can be more proactive and initiate diversity, equity, and inclusion, into every part of our institute.
And so I think that that position will be posted soon, and that person will be responsible for keeping track of our large diversity action task force that will have representatives from each one of our departments in it. And they will come up with some actionable items. There is a list that has been created already about their missions and their goal. So I think putting our money where our mouth is, where our mission is, where our mind is, I don't know if you remember, but last year we came up with our Herbert College strategic plan, and one of the five pillars was diversity, equity, and inclusion.
And so I'm just excited about this opportunity for us to finally move forward in a real way that's attached to some resources. You know, if you have the responsibility for creating an environment that welcomes all, that looks for opportunities to level the playing field in terms of equity. And it's also looking to figure out ways to get our students not just here, because of their academics, but to include students from a wide range and variety of social, economic, and class, we have to have the resources available in order to make that work without. Things I feel like from what they put forward from what Dr.
Cross and the deans who are supporting him on this, because that person will report to all of the deans and that person will also have a dotted line to UTK, to the Vice Chancellor, Tobby Small's office, and support as well. Okay. I mean, I just think that's exciting because, you know, a house divided can't stand. So the fact that we're all going to be on the same accord, I think, will move the conversation even further.
That's really exciting to think that somebody's going to be working on this full time and making sure that the Institute as a whole is a place for everyone. That's really exciting. It is, I mean, I'm excited to be one of the few, after the Americans to work in the Institute, yet to have found my way and to have found my place. I want to make sure that that's available for everyone.
Yeah. Sharon, I'm going to ask you for your final thoughts in just a minute. I would like to leave everyone with my own final thought, which is one of my favorite quotes. And I think today we are learning how we can do better, not that we're bad people, not that we are consciously trying to hurt people, but that we all carry around as unconscious bias.
And so now we can learn to do better. So I'd like to leave everyone with a quote from Maya Angelou. Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
So I would like to challenge everyone to be uncomfortable with me. And I hope we can continue having these conversations. Sharon, what are your final thoughts? Yeah, my final thoughts, especially in regards to unconscious biases, to really take a serious look at your biases as often as you can.
I just don't think it's something that you can leave because I know that it's not nice to think that we aren't nice all the time. Even we are not consciously entertaining. In pure intentions, we still want to believe that we are all pure. I just don't think that we understand that many of us are more biased than we realize.
And I want us to change our relationship with bias. I want us to educate ourselves on it because I do believe that it is the gateway to becoming anti-racist, anti-whatever it is that will move our society forward. And so we gotta get aware first. And I think this is one of those ways.
Very well said. Hi everybody, thank you for sticking with us for this conversation. We hope you enjoyed it. We hope you learned something.
I learned something every time I talk to Sharon, every time I do research into this area. So thank you. Thank you, Sharon, for joining us and for sharing your wisdom. If you were curious about any of the topics we talked about today and would like to do further research on your own, we would recommend doing a search for an article on Scientific American, How to Think About Implicit Bias by Payne, Naomi and Doris.
You could also search for research by Greenwald, McGee and Schwartz. And you can also just do a simple search on YouTube. There are many, many TED talks that cover implicit bias if you're interested in a deeper dive. And we hope that you will join us next time when we take to our grad students.
We'll go back to our normal, regularly scheduled program next time. And hopefully we can have sure in backing it on the future. Thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time. For more real life solutions provided by the UT Institute of Agriculture, go to our website at ag.tenacy.edu.