Verna Myers: How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them

翻译人员: Wei He 校对人员: Yiding(Eden) Wen

I was on a long road trip this summer,

这个夏天我进行了一次长途旅行

and I was having a wonderful time listening

听着伊莎贝尔·威克逊的优秀作品《他乡暖阳》的有声读物

to the amazing Isabel Wilkerson's "The Warmth of Other Suns."

度过了一段非常美好的时光

It documents six million black folks fleeing the South from 1915 to 1970

这本书记录了，在1915年到1970年间，六百万黑人为了暂时逃离一切暴行

looking for a respite from all the brutality

逃离了南方

and trying to get to a better opportunity up North,

以期在北方获得更好的机会

and it was filled with stories of the resilience and the brilliance

这本书里满是故事，展现了非裔美国人的

of African-Americans,

适应能力和才智

and it was also really hard to hear all the stories of the horrors

但是我不忍去听完那些让我们感到恐惧，

羞辱的，以及所有关乎廉耻心的故事。

It was especially hard to hear about the beatings and the burnings

当听到黑人遭受毒打、火刑，被私刑处死的时候，

and the lynchings of black men.

我特别难受

And I said, "You know, this is a little deep.

当时我说，“嗯，这有点沉重。

I need a break. I'm going to turn on the radio."

我需要缓一缓。还是听收音机吧。”

I turned it on, and there it was:

我打开了收音机，然后听到播报

Ferguson, Missouri,

在密苏里州的弗格森市

Michael Brown,

18岁的黑人男性

18-year-old black man,

迈克尔·布朗

unarmed, shot by a white police officer, laid on the ground dead,

没有带任何武器，但是被白人警察击中，倒地死亡

blood running for four hours

血，流了整整四个小时

while his grandmother and little children and his neighbors watched in horror,

他的祖母、孩子、还有他的邻居惊恐地看着这一幕

and I thought,

我当时想：

here it is again.

居然又是这种事！

This violence, this brutality against black men

这种针对黑人男性的暴行，

has been going on for centuries.

已经持续了数个世纪

I mean, it's the same story. It's just different names.

我的意思是，世界发生着同样的故事，只是主角的名字不一样了而已

It could have been Amadou Diallo.

主角可以是阿马杜·迪亚洛

It could have been Sean Bell.

可以是西恩·贝儿，

It could have been Oscar Grant.

奥斯卡·格兰特

It could have been Trayvon Martin.

也可以是特雷沃恩·马丁

This violence, this brutality,

这种暴力、暴行

is really something that's part of our national psyche.

是我们民族心理真实的一部分

It's part of our collective history.

也是我们集体历史的一部分。

What are we going to do about it?

我们到底要怎么应对这种暴力、暴行？

You know that part of us that still crosses the street,

知道吗？我们当中部分人，看到黑人的时候，

仍旧会穿过街道避开他，

locks the doors,

clutches the purses,

关紧房门，

when we see young black men?

拽紧钱包。

That part.

那部分人

I mean, I know we're not shooting people down in the street,

在我看来，虽然没有在街上直接把人击倒

but I'm saying that the same stereotypes and prejudices

但我认为他们持有同样的成见、同样的偏见

that fuel those kinds of tragic incidents

而这也助长了这种悲剧的发生。

are in us.

那一部分人就在我们中间

We've been schooled in them as well.

我们和他们一起上学。

I believe that we can stop these types of incidents,

我相信我们可以阻止这样的悲剧-

these Fergusons from happening,

让弗格森这样的事情不再发生

by looking within and being willing to change ourselves.

只要我们内省，愿意改变我们自己。

So I have a call to action for you.

所以我呼吁大家行动起来

There are three things that I want to offer us today to think about

今天我想让大家思考三点

as ways to stop Ferguson from happening again;

这三点可以防止弗格森这样的事情再次发生。

three things that I think will help us

我认为，这三点将帮助我们

reform our images of young black men;

改变我们对黑人男青年的印象

three things that I'm hoping will not only protect them

我希望这三点不仅可以保护他们

but will open the world so that they can thrive.

还可以为他们打开一个世界，这样他们就能得到发展。

Can you imagine that?

你们能想像得到吗？

Can you imagine our country embracing young black men,

想像我们国家，护佑着黑人男青年

seeing them as part of our future, giving them that kind of openness,

把他们看作我们未来的一部分，毫无偏见，风度翩翩的看待他们，

that kind of grace we give to people we love?

就像我们对待所爱的人那样

How much better would our lives be? How much better would our country be?

（这样），我们的生活能在多大程度上有所改善，我们的国家能在多大程度上有所改善？

Let me just start with number one.

让我们从第一点开始：

We gotta get out of denial.

我们必须不再否认。

Stop trying to be good people.

不要再装好人，

We need real people.

我们需要真真正正的人。

You know, I do a lot of diversity work,

大家知道，我做过很多和多元化相关的工作

and people will come up to me at the beginning of the workshop.

研讨会开始的时候，人们会来跟我说

“‘多元化’女士，非常高兴您能到来。”

They're like, "Oh, Ms. Diversity Lady, we're so glad you're here" --

(Laughter) --

（笑声）－－

"but we don't have a biased bone in our body."

“但是我们可没有偏见啊。”

And I'm like, "Really?

然后我就会说，“是吗？”

Because I do this work every day, and I see all my biases."

“我每天都研究这个问题，所以我知道自己所有的偏见。”

I mean, not too long ago, I was on a plane

不久之前，在飞机上

and I heard the voice of a woman pilot coming over the P.A. system,

我从公共广播系统里听到一位女飞行员的声音

and I was just so excited, so thrilled.

我当时非常兴奋，非常激动

I was like, "Yes, women, we are rocking it.

我想，“太棒了，女人，我们女人也可以开飞机了。

We are now in the stratosphere."

我们现在进入平流层了。”

It was all good, and then it started getting turbulent and bumpy,

飞机开始很稳，后来有点颠簸，忽上忽下。

and I was like,

我就想

"I hope she can drive."

“但愿她真的会开飞机。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I know. Right.

是的，我知道：

But it's not even like I knew that was a bias

当时我并未意识到那是一种偏见，

until I was coming back on the other leg and there's always a guy driving

然后，回程时，我坐了另一架飞机，全程都是一个男人在驾驶飞机

and it's often turbulent and bumpy,

飞机也经常动荡、颠簸

and I've never questioned the confidence of the male driver.

但我从未怀疑过那位男性飞行员-

The pilot is good.

那位飞行员非常出色。

Now, here's the problem.

这就是问题（所在了）。

If you ask me explicitly, I would say, "Female pilot: awesome."

如果你要我明确回答，我会说，“那位女飞行员，非常棒。 ”

But it appears that when things get funky and a little troublesome, a little risky,

但是当事情变得可怕，有点麻烦，有点冒险的时候

I lean on a bias that I didn't even know that I had.

我不知不觉就产生了偏见

You know, fast-moving planes in the sky,

大家都知道，对于在天空高速行驶的飞机来说，

I want a guy.

我还是想要男人来开飞机。

That's my default.

这就是我的偏见

Men are my default.

我更偏向男人

Who is your default?

你偏向谁？

Who do you trust?

你相信谁？

Who are you afraid of?

你害怕谁？

Who do you implicitly feel connected to?

你内心跟谁更亲近？

Who do you run away from?

你想要逃离谁？

I'm going to tell you what we have learned.

我现在要分享的是我们已经认识到的一些问题

The implicit association test, which measures unconscious bias,

在内隐联想测试中，我们测试了存在于潜意识中的偏见

you can go online and take it.

你可以上网测试一下-

Five million people have taken it.

已经有五百万人参加了测试

Turns out, our default is white. We like white people.

测试结果与现实相符，我们更偏向白人，我们喜欢白人

We prefer white. What do I mean by that?

我们更倾向于白人，具体来说呢？-

When people are shown images of black men and white men,

当人们看见黑人男性和白人男性的图片时

we are more quickly able to associate

我们能更快地

that picture with a positive word, that white person with a positive word,

把白人男性的图片和一个正面的词语联系起来

than we are when we are trying to associate

而要花更多的时间尝试将黑人的脸

positive with a black face, and vice versa.

同正面的词语联系起来。反之亦然：

When we see a black face,

当我们看见黑人面孔时

it is easier for us to connect black with negative

我们更容易把黑人与负面词语联系起来

than it is white with negative.

白人就不会那么轻易（和负面词语联系起来。）

Seventy percent of white people taking that test prefer white.

参加测试的白人中，百分之七十偏向白人

Fifty percent of black people taking that test prefer white.

参加测试的黑人中，百分之五十更喜欢白人

You see, we were all outside when the contamination came down.

你们看，我们都受到偏见的影响。

What do we do about the fact that our brain automatically associates?

那么，我们要如何应对我们大脑自动产生的联系呢？

You know, one of the things that you probably are thinking about,

你们可能正在思考，

and you're probably like, you know what,

可能正在想：

I'm just going to double down on my color blindness.

我以后决不会以肤色区分人。

Yes, I'm going to recommit to that.

好的，那我将重新讨论一下这个问题。

I'm going to suggest to you, no.

我要告诉你，不要那么做

We've gone about as far as we can go trying to make a difference

我们已经竭尽所能尝试做出改变

trying to not see color.

不以肤色区分人

The problem was never that we saw color. It was what we did when we saw the color.

但是问题并不在于我们区分人的肤色，而是在于我们区分人的肤色后所采取的行动

It's a false ideal.

不区分人的肤色，一个错误的想法

And while we're busy pretending not to see,

当我们忙于假装我们并不在乎肤色的时候

we are not being aware of the ways in which racial difference

我们没有意识到，种族差异是如何

is changing people's possibilities, that's keeping them from thriving,

改变人内心潜在的想法，这妨碍了人们的发展

and sometimes it's causing them an early death.

而且有时会造成他们过早死亡

So in fact, what the scientists are telling us is, no way.

事实上，科学家要告诉我们，不要

Don't even think about color blindness.

忽视肤色的不同。

In fact, what they're suggesting is,

事实上，他们想说的是：

stare at awesome black people.

看看那些了不起的黑人~

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Look at them directly in their faces and memorize them,

直面他们的脸，记住他们

because when we look at awesome folks who are black,

当我们看着一些了不起的黑人的时候

it helps to dissociate

这可以帮助解除

the association that happens automatically in our brain.

我们大脑自动产生的那些联系

Why do you think I'm showing you these beautiful black men behind me?

你们知道为什么我要展示我身后这些美丽的黑人面孔吗？

There were so many, I had to cut them.

这样的黑人有很多，我只能挑选部分

Okay, so here's the thing:

我想说的是

I'm trying to reset your automatic associations about who black men are.

我在尝试重新建立你们脑内关于黑人男性的自动联想

I'm trying to remind you

我想提醒你们

that young black men grow up to be amazing human beings

黑人男青年可以成长为非常出色的人

who have changed our lives and made them better.

他们改变了我们的生活，变得更加出色

So here's the thing.

-事实就是这样

The other possibility in science,

科学只能

and it's only temporarily changing our automatic assumptions,

暂时改变我们自动生成的假设

but one thing we know

但是我们知道

is that if you take a white person who is odious that you know,

如果让你拿出一张照片，上面是一个你知道的、可恶的白人

and stick it up next to a person of color,

然后你把 这张照片贴到一个有色人种旁边

a black person, who is fabulous,

贴到一位出色的黑人旁边

then that sometimes actually causes us to disassociate too.

有时候这样做，也可以帮助我们解除脑内自动生成的联系

So think Jeffrey Dahmer and Colin Powell.

所以，想想杰弗里·达默和科林·鲍威尔

Just stare at them, right? (Laughter)

看着他们好吗？（笑声）

But these are the things. So go looking for your bias.

但是事实就是这样，所以请看看你自己的偏见

Please, please, just get out of denial and go looking for disconfirming data

请一定不要否认，去找找那些可以说服你的资料。

that will prove that in fact your old stereotypes are wrong.

这将证明，事实上，你过往的成见都是错误的

Okay, so that's number one: number two,

好的，以上就是第一点，那么第二点

what I'm going to say is move toward young black men instead of away from them.

我要说的是，靠近那些黑人男青年，不要躲避

It's not the hardest thing to do,

虽然这并不是最困难的事

but it's also one of these things

但的确有难度

where you have to be conscious and intentional about it.

你必须意识清醒地、试图这么去做

You know, I was in a Wall Street area one time several years ago

几年前有段时间我曾在华尔街工作

when I was with a colleague of mine, and she's really wonderful

我跟我的同事在一起，她是一个非常好的人

and she does diversity work with me and she's a woman of color, she's Korean.

跟我一起工作，致力于多元性，她也是有色人种，是韩国人

And we were outside, it was late at night,

当时已经很晚了，我们在外面

and we were sort of wondering where we were going, we were lost.

我们迷路了, 正在想我们是走到了哪

And I saw this person across the street, and I was thinking, "Oh great, black guy."

然后我看见一个人穿过街道，我当时想，“太好了，黑人。”

I was going toward him without even thinking about it.

我想都没想地就向他走过去

And she was like, "Oh, that's interesting."

我的同事就说，“真有趣。”

The guy across the street, he was a black guy.

那个人穿过马路，是个黑人

I think black guys generally know where they're going.

我认为黑人一般都知道他们要去哪

I don't know why exactly I think that, but that's what I think.

我也不知道我会为什么会这样认为，但我就是这么想的

So she was saying, "Oh, you were going, 'Yay, a black guy'?"

我同事当时讲到，“你说的是，‘嘿，一个黑人。’”

She said, "I was going, 'Ooh, a black guy.'"

“而我说的是，‘哦，有个黑人。’”

Other direction. Same need, same guy, same clothes,

她走向了另一个方向。我们都要问路，但是面对同一个人，他就穿着那身衣服

same time, same street, different reaction.

在同一时间、同一街道，我们却有不同的反应

And she said, "I feel so bad. I'm a diversity consultant.

“我感觉非常糟糕。我是一位多元性咨询顾问。”

I did the black guy thing. I'm a woman of color. Oh my God!"

“我居然对黑人抱有偏见。我自己也是有色人种。我的天！”

And I said, "You know what? Please. We really need to relax about this."

然后我说，“看来，我们的确需要放松一下了。”

I mean, you've got to realize I go way back with black guys.

那末，你们一定意识到，我跟黑人颇有渊源了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My dad is a black guy. You see what I'm saying?

我的父亲是一位黑人，无疑的，对吗？

I've got a 6'5" black guy son. I was married to a black guy.

我的儿子是黑人，1.65m，我和黑人结婚

My black guy thing is so wide and so deep

我和黑人的渊源很深、很广

that I can pretty much sort and figure out who that black guy is,

我可以很轻易地知道一个黑人，是怎样的人

and he was my black guy.

那个我们迷路后遇到的黑人，是我的朋友

He said, "Yes, ladies, I know where you're going. I'll take you there."

他说，“是的，女士，我知道你们要去的地方，我带你们去那。”

You know, biases are the stories we make up about people

偏见是，我们在不了解一个人真实的一面时，

before we know who they actually are.

却杜撰了关于他子虚乌有的事。

But how are we going to know who they are

但我们既被教导要避开他们，害怕他们，

when we've been told to avoid and be afraid of them?

又如何了解他们，真实的为人？

So I'm going to tell you to walk toward your discomfort.

所以我告诉你们，要直面那些让你不舒服的事情

And I'm not asking you to take any crazy risks.

我不是要你们去疯狂地冒险

I'm saying, just do an inventory,

我只是想要你们想一想：

expand your social and professional circles.

在扩大你的社交圈，职业圈后，

Who's in your circle?

你的圈子里都有谁？

Who's missing?

谁又不在其中？

How many authentic relationships

你和黑人青年，不论男女，

do you have with young black people, folks, men, women?

到底建立了多少可靠的关系？

Or any other major difference from who you are

-换言之，他们与你在

and how you roll, so to speak?

生活方式上，有多少不同之处？

Because, you know what? Just look around your periphery.

看看你们的周围吧！

There may be somebody at work, in your classroom,

在你工作的地方，在你所在的教室里

in your house of worship, somewhere, there's some black young guy there.

教堂里，不论何处，你总能看见黑人青年。

And you're nice. You say hi.

如果你很友好，你会向他们问好。

I'm saying go deeper, closer, further, and build the kinds of relationships,

我想说的是，让我们进一步，发掘更深层次，更亲密的关系

the kinds of friendships that actually cause you to see the holistic person

这样的关系，事实上，可以让你更深入了解他整个人

and to really go against the stereotypes.

从而真正地与成见做斗争。

I know some of you are out there,

我知道你们当中部分人，

-尤其是我的一些白人朋友会说

"You have no idea how awkward I am.

“你不知道我有多笨拙。”

Like, I don't think this is going to work for me.

“我不认为这种方法对我有用。”

I'm sure I'm going to blow this."

“我肯定会搞砸。”

Okay, maybe, but this thing is not about perfection. It's about connection.

好吧，也许如此，但是我们不需要做到完美，只要连接彼此。

And you're not going to get comfortable before you get uncomfortable.

只有经历过痛苦，你才可能摆脱痛苦。

I mean, you just have to do it.

你必须这么做。

And young black men, what I'm saying is

我的意思是，如果黑人男青年

if someone comes your way, genuinely and authentically, take the invitation.

与你相遇，你要真心地、真诚地与他交谈，

Not everyone is out to get you.

-并不是所有人都会来找你。

Go looking for those people who can see your humanity.

去找找那些，可以看到你博爱之心的人-

You know, it's the empathy and the compassion

和与你不同的人交往，会让你

that comes out of having relationships with people who are different from you.

富有同情心, 怜悯心

Something really powerful and beautiful happens:

这样就会发生非常具有影响力、且非常美妙的事情

you start to realize that they are you,

你就会开始意识到，他们就是你们，

that they are part of you, that they are you in your family,

他们是你们的一部分，是你们家庭的成员

and then we cease to be bystanders

这样我们就不再是旁观者。

and we become actors, we become advocates,

我们成为演员，倡导者

and we become allies.

我们成为同盟。

So go away from your comfort into a bigger, brighter thing,

所以离开你的家，进入到一个更广阔、更光明的区域，

because that is how we will stop another Ferguson from happening.

这样我们将防止佛格森这样的事情再次发生。

That's how we create a community

这样我们才能建立一个社区，

where everybody, especially young black men, can thrive.

在这，每个人，尤其是黑人男青年，会得到发展

So this last thing is going to be harder,

我要阐明的最后一点，可能有点点难以做到，

and I know it, but I'm just going to put it out there anyway.

但它也是我着重阐述的：

When we see something, we have to have the courage to say something,

当我们看见不对的事情的时候，我们要有勇气去表达我们的观点，

even to the people we love.

即使是面对我们喜欢的人。

You know, it's holidays and it's going to be a time

假期是我们围坐在桌边，

when we're sitting around the table and having a good time.

享受美好时光的时间。

Many of us, anyways, will be in holidays,

诚然，我们很多人都要去度假。

and you've got to listen to the conversations around the table.

你们肯定会围在桌边，听大家讲话

You start to say things like, "Grandma's a bigot."

你开始说，“祖母很顽固。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Uncle Joe is racist."

“乔叔叔是一个种族主义者。”

And you know, we love Grandma and we love Uncle Joe. We do.

但你知道，家人都爱祖母，爱乔叔叔，我们的确爱他们。

We know they're good people, but what they're saying is wrong.

我们知道他们都是不错的人，但是说的话可不对。

And we need to be able to say something, because you know who else is at the table?

我们应谈谈其他轻松的话题，（而不是背后嚼舌根）你知道桌子周围还坐着谁吗？

The children are at the table.

-孩子们也坐在桌边。

And we wonder why these biases don't die, and move from generation to generation?

我一直想知道，这些偏见为什么不能消失，而是一代一代传了下来？

Because we're not saying anything.

因为我们没有出声纠正。

We've got to be willing to say, "Grandma, we don't call people that anymore."

我们需要主动说，“外婆，我们可不再那样乱嚼了。”

"Uncle Joe, it isn't true that he deserved that.

“不要这样说乔叔叔，我们不应该那样对他。”

No one deserves that."

“我们不能那样对任何人。”

And we've got to be willing

我们要主动

to not shelter our children from the ugliness of racism

让孩子看到种族主义的丑陋之处

when black parents don't have the luxury to do so,

虽然黑人父母做不到。

especially those who have young black sons.

但，尤其是那些，拥有年幼黑人儿子的父母

We've got to take our lovely darlings, our future,

我们一定要告诉可爱的孩子们，他们是我们的未来

and we've got to tell them we have an amazing country with incredible ideals,

我们一定要告诉他们，我们的国家很伟大，拥有很了不起的理想

we have worked incredibly hard, and we have made some progress,

我们十分努力地工作，取得一些进展

but we are not done.

但是我们尚未达成目标。

We still have in us this old stuff

我们仍旧保留了一些落后的东西-

about superiority and it is causing us

关于优越性偏见的劣习。

这些偏见，深埋在我们的习俗制度之中

to embed those further into our institutions

and our society and generations,

在我们的社会中，一代一代地传下来

and it is making for despair

让我们变得绝望。

and disparities and a devastating devaluing of young black men.

并造成差异，而大大地削弱了黑人青年的价值

We still struggle, you have to tell them,

我们还在奋斗，你必须告诉他们

with seeing both the color

我们承认黑人青年在肤色，

and the character of young black men,

性格上与我们不同

but that you, and you expect them,

但是你们可以预见

to be part of the forces of change in this society

他们会成为改变社会的力量之一

that will stand against injustice and is willing, above all other things,

这个社会将与不公正做斗争，最重要的是，

to make a society where young black men can be seen for all of who they are.

它愿意让所有的人了解黑人男青年的真实面貌。

So many amazing black men,

我们有很多出色的黑人男性

those who are the most amazing statesmen that have ever lived,

他们是历史上最出色的政治家，

brave soldiers,

勇敢的士兵，

awesome, hardworking laborers.

也是了不起的、辛勤的工人。

These are people who are powerful preachers.

他们是富有影响力的布道者，

They are incredible scientists and artists and writers.

伟大的科学家、艺术家和作家，

They are dynamic comedians.

更是富有活力的喜剧演员。

They are doting grandpas,

他们是和蔼的祖父，

caring sons.

体贴的儿子，

They are strong fathers,

强大的父亲。

and they are young men with dreams of their own.

他们也是怀有自己梦想的青年。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）