Be Aware of Your Blind Side: A Game Plan for Dealing with Implicit Bias

Years ago, there was an Oscar winning movie, The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock, about a prominent white Southern family, the Tuohys, who opened their home to a young, poor, African American high school football player, Michael Oher. The Tuohys supported and assisted Oher in reaching his dreams of becoming a professional football player. Oher was a left tackle and his primary responsibility was to protect his quarterback from defenders rushing the quarterback’s blindside. Yet, another interesting storyline was Oher’s impact on the Tuohy family and their perceptions and biases related to privilege, race, and socioeconomic issues.