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Unconscious bias—whether it’s targeting race, religion, sexuality, ability, body type, or the mountain of other ways in which we judge each other—does not necessarily stem from active hate, and is not as easy to spot within our friends and ourselves. But it impacts our communities every single day. So we need to do a better job acknowledging it.

We can start by taking this Harvard Implicit Bias Test. The most responsible thing we can do right now is recognize ways to improve ourselves.

This Issue Time features a panel of experts answering your questions and addressing your concerns on Implicit bias.

Ask our panel of experts a question now

Laura Mather, PhD, is an expert on unconscious bias and the neuroscience behind decision-making. She has built creative software solutions for the National Security Agency, eBay, and her own startups, Silver Tail Systems and Talent Sonar. Her work has been featured in many outlets including NPR and the New Yorker and her writing can be found in Ozy, Salon, Time Motto, Fast Company, Forbes, and the Huffington Post, where she is a regular blogger. She is the winner of the Anita Borg Institute’s 2017 ABIE Award for Technology Entrepreneurship.

Tanya M. Odom is a global consultant, coach, facilitator, writer, teacher, storyteller, ally, and thought-leader focused on equity, civil rights, and diversity and inclusion. Tanya’s unique portfolio career has allowed her to work in the education, private sector/corporate, not-for-profit/NGO, law enforcement, and university/college arenas. Tanya’s work focuses on topics including :  Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Leadership, Race/Racism, Challenging Conversations, Mindfulness, Coaching, Innovation and Creativity, Educational Equity, and Youth Empowerment/mentoring.

Joe Gerstandt is a speaker, author, and advisor bringing greater clarity, action, and impact to organizational diversity and inclusion efforts. As a keynote speaker and consultant, Joe works with everyone from Fortune 500 companies to small non-profits.

Bryant T. Marks, Sr. is a minister, researcher, master teacher and human developmentalist.  His calling/passion/purpose is to develop the knowledge, wisdom, and skills of others that will allow them to reach their full potential and live their lives with purpose and passion. He is particularly driven to identify the factors that foster the affirmative personal and academic development Black males and create programs and publications that incorporate these factors. Dr. Marks combines research from social, educational, and cognitive psychology with hip-hop, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and African/African American history to engage, inform, and inspire audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Our panelists will begin to answer your question this Friday, October 6.

MTV’s Elect This’s Ask box is open for Tumblr and Elect This’ second IssueTime. Two years have passed since Ferguson, has anything really changed? A panel stacked with experts on police brutality and racial justice activist will be answering your burning questions on topics we’ve all been thinking about since Ferguson, like reforming officer training, dealing with institutional racism, and improving relationships between communities of color and the police. Join us in discussion on how far we still have to go (allies included) in the fight toward racial equality since protests in Ferguson shocked the nation two years ago. We’ll be accepting questions until Wednesday, August 24 and publishing the responses here on Saturday, August 27. 

Panelist bios:

Jamil Smith

Jamil Smith is a Senior National Correspondent for MTV News. Previously, Jamil was a Senior Editor at New Republic, as well as the host of the magazine’s first podcast, INTERSECTION. He also served previously as a producer for MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “Melissa Harris-Perry,” and won three Sports Emmy Awards during his six years with NFL Films.

Elle Hearns

Elle Hearns is a revolutionary organizer, freedom fighter. She has spent a lifetime being committed to making sure that marginalized voices are centered and reflected in social justice movements.  Elle served as a lead organizer of The Movement for Black Lives convening held in Cleveland, Ohio while also consulting on the Movement for Black Lives policy platform. Elle is currently an organizing coordinator for the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Elle’s writings have been featured in TruthOut, Huffington Post, and Ebony. Her remarkable work has been chronicled by several publications including Time, CNN, MTV, The New York Times, Alternet, Democracy Now, The Daily Dot, Fusion, Essence Magazine, and The Washington Post. 

Andre C. Anderson

Andre is the Special Assistant to the President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) 2016-17, tasked with working to engage national community dialogue and working with others to usher in methods designed to build trust and legitimacy from lessons learned from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Andre is most known for serving as the Interim Police Chief for Ferguson in the wake of the Mike Brown JR shooting. During his tenure, he led a new approach to civil unrest which eased tension and created better relationships in the community. He introduced and led modern day evidence based community policing, and was the lead policing expert to negotiate with the Department of Justice Consent Decree levied as a “Pattern or Practice of Discriminatory Policing.

Rashad Robinson

Rashad is the Executive Director of Color Of Change, the United States’ largest online racial justice organization. As a force driven by over one million members, Color Of Change moves decision makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people, and for all people. Rashad has developed winning strategies to change the rules of many fields affecting Black people’s lives: employment and the economy, voting and politics; news and entertainment; and criminal justice. 

Rashad has appeared in hundreds of media outlets, including ABC, CNN, MSNBC, BET, NPR, the New York Times and the Huffington Post.

Martese Johnson

Martese Johnson is a Strategist at Sylvain Labs, and a recent graduate of the University of Virginia. He is a South Side, Chicago native and the first in his family to graduate from a four-year university. In his third year of college at UVA, Martese fell victim to excessive force by Alcoholic Beverage Control officers near his campus. Since state investigators dropped the charges against him, Martese has spent much of his time advocating for minorities who experience police brutality and various other forms of social injustice. Martese has appeared on various media outlets (CNN, CBS, ABC, etc.) and spoken at the National Urban League and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conferences.

Holly Fetter

Holly is passionate about organizing young people to leverage their resources in support of social movements.  Holly was awarded the Tom Ford Fellowship in Philanthropy which enabled her to work at the Ford Foundation in the program area that funds social movement infrastructure. She designed and taught a course on whiteness as an undergraduate, created a platform to field questions from curious white people (TokenWhiteFriend@gmail.com), and serves as a consultant and commentator for MTV.

Announcement: Refinery29’s Ask Box is now open for the next round of Tumblr’s IssueTime on Abortion Access and Reproductive Rights

Refinery29 is so excited to work with Tumblr and the wonderful activists, scholars, lawyers and doctors who’ve agreed to be on our panel so that you can learn more about the real issues facing people who are considering getting an abortion, have had an abortion, or simply want to preserve the option to do so. We put this panel together with particular attention to the practical problems facing people who want abortions (like how the heck do you pay for it??) so send our panelists your toughest questions.

The panelists:

Keep reading

MTV’s Elect This’s Ask Box is open for Tumblr and Elect This’ first IssueTime. Leading LGTBQ advocates will be answering your questions on the history and future of the LGBTQ movement from Stonewall to Orlando, deconstructing how far we’ve come, and how far there still is to go. We’ll be accepting questions until Saturday, June 25th and publishing the responses here on Sunday, June 26th.

MTV’s Elect This’s Ask Box is open for Tumblr and Elect This’ IssueTime on gun violence prevention. Leading activists for gun safety will be answering your questions on gun rights and gun control, how to be an activist in your own community for gun safety regardless of age or experience, and so much more. We’ll be accepting questions until Thursday, October 27th, and publishing the responses right here on Wednesday, November 2nd. For more on the realities of gun violence, make sure to catch True Life: I’ve Been Shot, on MTV tonight at 10/9c.  

Panelist Biographies:

Amber Goodwin, Founding Director Community Justice Reform Coalition (CJRC)

The CJRC is a national coalition working on policy reform and building resources for communities of color working at the nexus of gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform. Prior to founding CJRC, Amber served as National Advocacy Director for Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Sarah Clements, Founder, Junior Newtown Action Alliance

On December 14, 2012, Sarah’s mother survived the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In the aftermath, Sarah began work to address gun violence in every type of community, through legislative action, cultural change, and bridge-building.

Shawn VanDiver, Navy Veteran, Co-director of the Truman National Security Project, San Diego chapter

A 12-year Navy Veteran, Shawn attended National University and the Naval Postgraduate School, earning degrees or certificates in Domestic Security Management, Homeland Security and Safety Engineering, and Information Systems Operations He owns firearms and spent more than a decade training service members in the use of lethal and non-lethal force.

Adam Hartnett, Organizer

Adam is a fresh-out-of-school social worker, new to the world of activism and community organizing. Adam is currently organizing for stricter gun policies in Orlando, Florida with change.org. When he isn’t testing out his new social justice legs, he enjoys riding his bike, swimming in the ocean, and traveling.

Mike Weisser, Author and Firearms Instructor

Mike Weisser is the author of six books and over 700 blogs and has been a gun wholesaler, retailer, importer and firearms instructor since 1965. He is a Life Member and certified NRA firearms instructor and has trained more than 6,000 men and women in guns and gun safety.  

Jonas Oransky, Senior Counsel, Everytown for Gun Safety

Jonas Oransky is Senior Counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety, where he develops Everytown policy and supports state and federal legislative efforts.

Jessica Jin, Founder, Cocks Not Glocks

Jessica founded Cocks Not Glocks after the viral success of “Campus (Dildo) Carry” at the University of Texas at Austin, which was hailed as the largest anti-gun demonstration in Texas history. Cocks Not Glocks harnesses the humor, creativity, and compassion of young people to reject guns as an acceptable solution to fear and violence