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This is my protest: What psychologists can add to conversations about Ferguson
  • Joyce P. Yang
Joyce P. Yang
University of Washington

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

In the United States, while deaths of Black individuals at the hands of the police occur at unbelievable rates, many continue to proclaim that we live in a post-racial society or that racism is an artifact of the past.  Psychologists can, and indeed must, make a unique contribution to conversations about recent race-related events such as Ferguson and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.  On the one year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, this letter briefly highlights several phenomena established in psychological literature on racial biases such as the Superhumanization bias and findings from Shoot, Don’t Shoot paradigms that may increase public awareness on acknowledging contemporary racial disparity and inequity.