STUDY: People Think Black Men Are Scary

April 5, 2024 Pharaoh

A study found that both white and black people often view black men as older, bigger, and stronger than they actually are. Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola, and Jordan Chariton, the hosts of The Young Turks, tell you why. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

“The epidemic of police violence against black men and women has made national headlines in the past few years, with the most recent research suggesting black people are nearly three times more likely to be killed by the police.

As three researchers note in a new paper published by the American Psychological Association, a common theme emerges after such acts of violence: Police officers often thought of the black victims as more physically menacing than they actual were.

The authors point to the case of Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed black man that a white police officer shot 14 times and killed in Milwaukee in 2014. The officer later tried to justify his actions by saying Hamilton was so muscular he could have overpowered any cop—yet the autopsy recorded Hamilton’s vital stats as 5’7″ and 169 pounds. That disparity could just be evidence of an after-the-fact excuse, but the researchers considered whether such cases might also point to a meaningful psychological difference in perception.”