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Implicit racial bias remains widespread, even among individuals who explicitly reject prejudice. One reason for the persistence of implicit bias may be that it is maintained through structural and historical inequalities that change slowly. We investigated the historical persistence of implicit bias by comparing modern implicit bias with the proportion of the population enslaved in those counties in 1860. Counties and states more dependent on slavery before the Civil War displayed higher levels of pro-White implicit bias today among White residents and less pro-White bias among Black residents. These associations remained significant after controlling for explicit bias. The association between slave populations and implicit bias was partially explained by measures of structural inequalities. Our results support an interpretation of implicit bias as the cognitive residue of past and present structural inequalities.
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The Great Migration and Implicit Bias in the Northern United States
The spatial patterning of present-day racial bias in Southern states is predicted by the prevalence of slavery in 1860 and the structural inequalities that followed. Here we extend the investigation of the historical roots of implicit bias to areas outside the South by tracing the Great Migration of Black southerners to Northern and Western states. We found that the proportion of Black residents in each county ( N = 1,981 counties) during the years of the Great Migration (1900–1950) was significantly associated with greater implicit bias among White residents today. The association was statistically explained by measures of structural inequalities. Results parallel the pattern seen in Southern states but reflect population changes that occurred decades later as cities reacted to larger Black populations. These findings suggest that implicit biases reflect structural inequalities and the historical conditions that produced them.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2041192
- PAR ID:
- 10435620
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Social Psychological and Personality Science
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1948-5506
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 498-508
- Size(s):
- p. 498-508
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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