Is Prince Harry’s idea of ​​unconscious bias racist?

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I will not do it. Not having lived with this family.”

In Prince Harry’s tell-all interview, he explained how he believed the Royal Family weren’t racist, but rather had an unconscious bias.

During the interview with Tom Bradby on ITV, the royal discussed many different aspects of his life, including his relationship with his family and his interview with his wife, Meghan Markle, and Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

At the time, Meghan addressed her then-unborn child’s concerns following his and Harry’s exit from royal duties and service.

She said: During these months when I was pregnant, we have in tandem the conversation of, He will not receive security. He won’t be given a title and also worries and conversations about how dark his skin was when he was born.

Despite the obvious racist overtones, Harry dismissed the idea that he and Meghan were accusing the Royal Family of racism.

When asked if he would describe the comment as essentially racist, Harry replied:

I will not do it. Not having lived with this family.

Going back to the difference between what I understand, because of my own experience, the difference between racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different.

But once it’s been recognized or pointed out to you as an individual or as an institution that you have unconscious biases, then you have the opportunity to learn and grow from that in order to be part of the solution rather than being part of the problem.

Otherwise, unconscious bias then falls into the category of racism.

The reaction to Harry differentiating between racism and unconscious bias as two different concepts drew a controversial reaction from the public.

Distinguishing between racism and unconscious bias is an unexpected turn of events for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

From Meghan’s initial introduction to British tabloids targeting her racial background, financial motives and past career experiences, the public almost expected Prince Harry to reveal the darker issues within the royal institution. .

After making several attempts to correct and publicly acknowledge his family’s wrongdoings – Harry is certain that racism is not part of the conversation.

But is his idea of ​​“unconscious bias” racist?

Unconscious bias and racism

Unconscious bias is a byproduct of racism.

Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of ColorinTech, a nonprofit that fights discrimination in the tech industry, explains the meaning of unconscious bias.

As the wording suggests, unconscious biases are actions you do that you are unaware of.

According to Ashleigh, unconscious bias means:

Where you don’t necessarily consciously make a decision based on someone’s predetermined characteristics.

This differs from conscious bias, which is:

Conscious bias is when you do or say something and use your predisposed opinions, thoughts, ideas, or judgments about someone, based on some characteristic they have to broadly discriminate against them, or to make a judgment in favor of something without being balanced or fair or proportionate.

Where it’s very obvious, you can see it, you can challenge it, and you can call it out. [If] someone is sexist, homophobic or racist, you can say, you say that, or it happens

When unconscious, it can often be harder to spot, harder to identify, harder to account for.

And actually, that means it’s a bit more ubiquitous and people can get away with not doing it.

Prince Harry has positioned the royal family as an institution that needs to learn and educate themselves about their unconscious biases, instead of being racist.

While Harry has given thanks to his family members in their attempts at reconciliation, the two concepts cannot be separated.

Journalist Jason Okundaye shared his opinion on Twitter:

Speculating negatively about the complexion of an unborn child is not “unconscious bias”, unconscious for whom? »

He is someone who actively and consciously panics about skin color.

By trying to separate racism and unconscious bias, he is no doubt trying to downplay remarks made by the royal family, the racist overtones it has had and also the history of royal involvement in British imperialism.

When holding the Royal Family accountable, Prince Harry fails to address the longstanding issue of racism in Britain’s royal institution.

In Harry’s case, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry chose to share the comment about their child’s complexion with the world, so trying to backtrack and remove racism from the conversation has caused confusion.

Many people shared their thoughts on Harry’s clarification with the media, who pointed out the contradiction to Harry’s comment.

In another tweet, Jason Okundaye said:

That’s the problem with Harry: cakey.

He wants to condemn his family members so they can grow up, but only wants to call it ‘unconscious bias’ because calling it racism forces him to unravel the institution of monarchy itself #HarryTheInterview.

That’s the problem with Harry: cakey. He wants to condemn his family members so they can grow up, but only wants to call it unconscious bias because calling it racism forces him to untangle the institution of monarchy itself #HarryTheInterview

— Jason Okundaye (@jasebyjason) January 8

Some members of the public said Harry tried to shield the Royal Family from the racist label because he still loved them.

One person said: You can tell Harry still loves his family.

He wants to believe that they’re not all bad so he calls racism unconscious bias, but unconscious bias is just an umbrella term in my opinion.

Along with his public declaration that the Royal Family are not racist, Prince Harry himself has had a past that includes racist remarks and tendencies.

In 2009, while on military service, Prince Harry was overheard making a false comment.

As he zoomed in on the face of an Asian cadet waiting at an airport to fly to Cyprus, Harry was heard saying:

Someone else here…our Paki boyfriend…Ahmed.

The word Paki is derogatory slang for an immigrant or descendant of an immigrant from Pakistan or South Asia.

In another video, Harry was heard telling another officer who was wearing a camouflage veil during a nighttime maneuver in Cyprus.

He said: You look like a raghead.

Presumably Prince Harry has now grown out of his past.

In many cases, Prince Harry has shown the world that he has different morals and values ​​than the royal family.

However, this difference is not stark enough to fully address the negative racist bias within the royal institution.

Despite Harry’s struggles as a dark horse within the Royal Family, the attempt to deflect racism as unconscious bias can be described as racism itself.

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