Paris Olympics and Defeating Stereotypes
"The silhouette says a lot with very little information, but that's also what the stereotype does." — Kara Walker
Defeating Stereotypes
What a week! At the very last minute, my family and I decided to overturn our very carefully planned European itinerary and spend three days in Paris at the Olympics. It. Was. Amazing. Please follow me on the socials if you want to read more about our Olympic journey.
One thing I loved the most in Paris was celebrating athletic excellence with people from across the world. One minute we were cheering with Mexico. Five minutes later, Korea. The next event, Croatia. And, of course, throughout, our home countries, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, and Jamaica. Highlights? The women's 100m. Andy Murray's final tennis match. Archery! And the US putting on a valiant, if losing, effort against a fired up Moroccan soccer team.
Throughout, it made me think about something that’s been on my mind lately - stereotypes.
Stereotypes. The preconceived, overgeneralized assumptions we make about a particular group of people. Not all stereotypes are negative, not all stereotypes are untrue. They are however incomplete. And when you can’t let them go and see the person behind the stereotype, that is when we see bias, discrimination, and prejudice. So how do we start to overcome stereotypes and interrupt these biases? Here are my three tips.
Recognize Your Own Stereotypes
What stories do we not have access to? What things are we not learning? What is making us uncomfortable? And how can we learn not just to overcome that, but to use that? Learn when things are true, learn when things are not true, and learn when two things can be true at once. It will serve all of us better.
Be an Upstander
Nothing changes until we stand up and act. You learned the strategies last week. Now it's time to put them into action. Remember, when we intervene as a bystander we help return dignity, power, and agency to a person being harassed or stereotyped. When we actively challenge stereotypes, we are letting people know that we see them and that they belong.
Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Continue to intentionally invest in relationships with people of different backgrounds and experiences. Attend events, join groups, and work to broaden your social and career circles. Something I often ask in my trainings. Look at your life through the eyes of a child - what would they see when they look at your social groupings?
Overcoming stereotypes is an ongoing process that requires conscious effort, self-reflection, and a commitment to learning and growth. But the goal is inclusion. As the Olympics reminds us, that is a goal our entire world can work toward together.
Do the work
This week, I commit to engaging in open conversations, seeking out opportunities to interact with individuals outside of my social group, and building genuine relationships based on mutual respect and understanding.
If You Want to Keep Going
If you want to keep going
Across the globe, words have become so charged that debates and discussion quickly veer into anger and accusations. We see it again and again, in our workplaces, our homes, our schools, our lives. And yet, we cannot move forward on inclusion and belonging unless we can successfully share our own perspectives while recognizing the perspectives of others. But having those conversations without the right preparation can lead to anger, frustration, and the belief that tackling difference is not worth all the conflict it brings. That’s where A More Perfect Union enters.
In A More Perfect Union, we start with the possibility, or why these differences matter in our world. Then we move into the reality, using charged phrases and fragmented identites to understand how we became polarized in our silos. Next, we address the solution – civility – the fundamental basis of our shared civilization. Finally, we end with the ten steps we can all take starting now to rebuild a civilization centered on dignity, empathy, respect, and a more perfect union for us all.
