To see how your experience compares, answer some of the questions that were posed to 101 black teenagers as part of a study measuring the racism they face on a daily basis.
To see how your experience compares, answer some of the questions that were posed to 101 black teenagers as part of a study measuring the racism they face on a daily basis.
The New York Times
U.S.|How Much Racism Do You Face Every Day?
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U.S.
How Much Racism Do You Face Every Day?
ByAMY HARMONJAN. 20, 2020
To see how your experience with discrimination compares with others',  answer some of the questions that were posed to 101 black teenagers as part of a study measuring the racism they face on a daily basis.Related Article
Anti-black bigotry in America can take many forms, some overt and some harder to measure. To find out just how pervasive racism is, a team of researchers tracked the experiences of 101 black teenagers in Washington, D.C., for two weeks.
Here are some of those questions presented to the teenagers. See how your experience compares. Your tally will appear at the bottom.
In the past two weeks,
How many times were you mistaken for someone else of your same race/ethnicity (who may not look like you at all)?
How many times did you see a racist image online (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or in a comments section)?
How many times did a teacher assume that you were an expert on people of your same race/ethnic background? (If you are not a student, consider a co-worker.)
Collectively, the 101 black teens participating in the studyreported more than 5,600 experiencesof racial discrimination over two weeks. That boils down to an average of more than five instances per day for each teenager. That’s more than 70 over two weeks.
Those findings may not be surprising to those who face routine discrimination, but they reflect a higher frequency of racism than has previously been reported.
What caused the increase? Researchers say that the study was the first to include so many expressions of racial bias, 58 in all, and to ask participants to record them daily. Previous studies have typically asked participants to recall experiences from the past, which researchers say is not as accurate.
Although there has been an increase in hate crimes during the Trump administration, this study measures incidents that occurred when Barack Obama was in the White House.
The teens who participated in the study were students at a middle school, a high school and a summer program in Washington. Those who experienced more instances of discrimination over the two weeks also showed more symptoms of short-term depression, the study found, such as difficulty sleeping, loneliness and anxiety.
“Part of why these types of microaggressions are so insidious is that a lot of times, white people can see them as not real, or not a big deal,’‘ said Devin English, a psychologist at Rutgers University who led the study. “But this is showing us the magnitude of the discrimination faced by black adolescents. It’s happening all the time. And it’s affecting how they feel.’’
Witnessing Racism
In the past two weeks,
How many times did people say things that were untrue about people in your race/ethnic group online?
How many times did you hear about a family member experiencing something they described as racial discrimination?
How many times did you see a peer of your same race/ethnicity teased because of their race/ethnicity?
Seeing or hearing about a parent or friend experiencing racial discrimination, the study suggested, had a similar effect on the mental health of participants as discrimination they experienced themselves. Dr. English said that was in line with post-traumatic stress research which shows that witnessing violence against others can be as damaging as personally experiencing it.
Other studieshave shown that secondhand exposure to racism, such as killings of unarmed black men by the police, can harm the mental health of black Americans.
Racial Teasing
In the past two weeks,
How many times did a peer joke about the negative treatment of black people in the United States? (e.g., slavery, police brutality)
How many times did a peer joke about the texture of your hair because of your race/ethnicity?
How many times did a peer tease you because of your skin tone?
Racial teasing is common among adolescents and often it is seen as harmless. Butprevious studieshave shown that it can lead to increases in anxiety symptoms for black adolescents.
In the research team’s interviews with black teens, Dr. English said, being teased about hair and skin tone was cited as a frequent way that they were treated differently because of their race.
One black teenager gave an example of being asked by a white friend, “Why don’t you like chocolate cake? Is it because it is the same color as you?”
Measuring Microaggressions
In the past two weeks,
How many times were you watched closely or followed around by security guards or clerk at a store or mall because of your race/ethnicity?
How many times did you encounter people who were surprised that you, given your race or ethnic background, did something really well?
How many times did a peer point out that you fit a stereotype of your race/ethnicity?
In recent years, social scientists have debated the impact of commonplace, sometimes unintentional expressions of bias known as microaggressions, with some arguing that they represent largely harmless behavior misinterpreted as hurtful.
The study suggests that microaggressions occur an average of several times a week for adolescents, and are linked to an increase in depressive symptoms. One teenager told the researchers that white students expected him to be good at basketball because he was black and tall. Another recalled a teacher telling his predominantly black class “get educated or go to the penitentiary.’’
Here are the 58 different forms of racism in the study. The averages reflect how many times the 101 black teenagers have experienced such behavior over two weeks. Are there others that researchers missed?

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