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Can We Talk (With Or Without Beer)? How Triggers For Unconscious Racism Strengthen The Importance Of Dialogue, Adjoa A. Aiyetoro

Adjoa A. Aiyetoro

This article is ultimately about healing the racial divide illustrated by the recent arrest of Henry Louis Gates. It expands on the scholarship of unconscious racism by exploring a trigger for unconscious racism that up to this point scholars have only alluded to: the language of race. It argues that society often censures an African descendant speaker who uses the language of race or racism. This censure occurs because many in American society have embraced the myth of a colorblind society. They believe that to assert otherwise and to question whether there are racial implications associated with a given action …