The assumptions we make before we know someone.
Racism often begins with a snap decision about who belongs, who is safe and who has a right to be present.
TEDx Speaker · Mediator · Facilitator
Raise Your Hand If You’re Racist.
Most people will not. That does not mean there is nothing to examine.
Karla F. West helps leaders, teams and communities move through difficult conversations with greater honesty, clarity and courage.
Watch the Talk
Karla’s TEDx talk is now available.
Now on YouTube
Click here to watch Karla’s TEDx talk
The Idea
Racism is not only the loud, obvious act. It also lives in the subtle choices we excuse.
Karla’s talk asks us to look beyond the labels we reject and examine the snap judgments, private language and small behaviors that help keep racism alive.
Three Places to Look
Examination begins closer than we think.
The words we excuse because of who is speaking.
Familiarity, humor and culture do not erase the history or harm carried by the language we use.
The subtle choices we make in certain rooms.
What we say, hide, clutch, avoid or tolerate can reveal beliefs we would never claim out loud.
The Question
“What role do you play in keeping something a problem?”
About the Speaker
Karla F. West
Karla F. West is a storyteller and advocate for honest self-examination. Drawing from her own experiences with race, language and belonging, she challenges audiences to move beyond declaring what they are not and to consider what their everyday choices may still be sustaining.
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