Hello, my name is Derald Wing Sue, and I’m an Asian American professor who has been studying racial microaggressions for many years. Today, I’m going to talk about the racial microaggressions around us. Before we cut to the chase, I want to ask you this question. If you want to understand racism, do you ask White individuals or people of color? In fact, when a clash of racial realities occurs, it is highly likely that it is mainstream groups that possess the tools such as education, mass media, peers, social groups, and institutions to define and impose realities on other groups. Researchers have found that: first, unconscious racial biases exist among dominant-group individuals; second, these biases often appear in the form of unintentional discrimination; and third, disempowered groups have a more accurate assessment of reality than do dominant groups, especially relating to whether discriminatory behavior is bias-motivated. Therefore, it is important to listen to the perspectives of people of color and the oppressed to gain a fuller understanding of racism and oppression.

Now I ask you again. If you want to understand racism, do you ask White individuals or people of color? In general, if you want to understand oppression, do you ask the oppressor or the oppressed? The answers seem obvious to us, and are evident, too, in this African proverb: The true tale of the lion hunt will never be told as long as the hunter tells the story. It means that the lion, who is the victim, never gets to tell its side of the story ― so the real truth can never be known, only the hunter’s version of the truth. Furthermore, to talk about the clash of racial realities in detail, let me give you one example.

Fresh out of my doctoral program, I met a Nigerian scholar who was amused by my commitment to seeking knowledge through experimentation and experience. He shared with me a tale often told to children in his country about a female elementary school teacher who posed a math problem to her class: “Suppose there are four blackbirds sitting on a tree branch. You take a slingshot and shoot one of them. How many are left?” A White student answered quickly, “That’s easy, Teacher ... four take away one is three.” An equally eager Nigerian immigrant boy stated with equal certainty that the answer was zero. The teacher chuckled at the Nigerian youth, indicated the answer was wrong, and suggested he study more math. From that day on, the young boy seemed to withdraw from class activities and seldom spoke to his classmates or teacher.

If the teacher had pursued the reasons behind the Nigerian student’s answer, she might have heard the following: “If you shoot one bird, the others will fly away.” Herein lies a major worldview difference between that of the teacher and the African youth. From a Western science perspective, the math problem represents a hypothetical situation that requires a literal, task-based answer. From the perspective of the Nigerian student, however, his answer is based on lived experience, a known relationship with birds, and an understanding of how the real ― that is, not hypothetical ― world operates.

Seen from the perspective of the hunter and the lion, both answers may be considered correct, but, unfortunately, it is the hunter’s tale that determines “truth” and can result in cultural oppression, imposing one reality over another, with devastating consequences. As for the Nigerian boy, he is left feeling dismissed, inadequate, and isolated from the curriculum and teacher. His school performance is likely to suffer. This is the invisible world of experiential microaggressions, unseen by the hunter.