Are you biased? Am I?

The short answer is yes. We all are.

Having bias isn't a choice. We can't avoid it. We prefer members of our religion, our country, our political party, and speakers of our native language. We're taught bias unintentionally by people who aren't conscious of their biases, and we in turn unintentionally pass them on to others.

So it's not a "sin" to be biased. It's inevitable.

What matters is not allowing our unchosen biases to exert absolute control over our decisions and behavior.

To do that, however, we must recognize and accept them as real.

In 'Racism by Proxy,' essayist Johnny Townsend pushes past shame, guilt, insults, and other useless approaches to show how all of us, even white people of varying privilege, benefit from increasing equity and social justice throughout our communities.