And at least part of the reason you reached the assumptions about these PoC that you did, is because when you grow up in a nearly all white environment, the only things you know about us is what appears in popular media, a media that is almost entirely controlled by people who share almost none of the characteristics of the marginalized people they’re telling stories about. Popular media largely consists of white male writers interpretations of marginalized people, and how they believe or wish we were.

One of the ways you can work on implicit bias is to question the assumptions, that have been provided to you, through the media you’ve consumed your entire life. We all consume it, we all have biases, and the only difference between you and I, is that I live among PoC, and have seen counter arguments against those assumptions my entire life, while you have not.

I would begin by critiquing and questioning the messages and images you see on TV and in movies, and consider how they make you feel, or think about different people. It’s a tremendous help in rooting out biases you may not even be aware of (things like, how the continent of Africa is depicted onscreen. Even I fell for that one.) This also helps to develop the habit of questioning the images you see, and the stories you’re being told. Also try consuming more media that’s actually being created by PoC, to see what they think of themselves, rather than what white artists think of them.

Of course, I couldn’t possibly be encouraging this because I have a special interest in how the media reinforces, reflects, and teaches us about the real world, and the people in it. No, not at all!🙄

Good luck on your journey!