It’s always interesting to see just how far apart people who live in the same are when it comes to understanding the other’s lives and culture. A recent study Harvard’s Du Bois Review shows just how little is known about black folks. But, even more interesting is that the prism through which race is viewed can cloud the judgement of the perceiver.

The study gathered the perceptions of 958 whites of various ages from locations around the country.

One item that was asked was how much they would have to be paid to live this rest of their lives as a black person, the average response was $10,000. In other words, they felt that the income disparity they would experience would only amount to about that much.

However, the reality is that the disparity is much greater:

For example, white households average about $150,000 more wealth than the typical black family. Overall, total wealth for white families is about five times greater than that of black families, a gap that has persisted for years.

Now, when asked how much they would need to receive to give up T.V., the average response was $1,000,000. Yes, they would only need $10,000 to be black but 100 times that amount to give up television. So, again, this indicates how small the perceived challenge of being black in America was to these respondents.

But, the most interesting portion of the study has to be the following:

The researchers asked participants to imagine that their great, great grandfather, a wealthy shipping magnate, had been kidnapped about 150 years ago. The kidnappers demanded and received a large ransom that bankrupted the shipping magnate. That ransom was used to start a successful company that still survives today and is worth $100 million. Participants were asked whether they would be willing to be a part of a large suit against the present-day company that could net them each about $5,000.

In this scenario, 61 percent agreed to have their names listed on the lawsuit. The researchers noted that this is about the percentage of blacks today who support reparations for slave descendants.

“When white Americans find it within themselves to say ‘I must be compensated for a past injustice done to me’ but the same logic evaporates when the injustice concerns black Americans, they are staring straight at bias,” Banaji said.

Something to think about, huh?

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