See a recording of this event on our Facebook video page or YouTube channel.

Racism is a system in which people are treated a particular way based on their race. Racism exists because of racial prejudice, where we make judgements about people based entirely on their race and our own unconscious bias, and not on actual experience. Our brains react to people who are different from us within milliseconds. At this Science on Tap, Dr. Larry Sherman, a Professor of Neuroscience, will explore how our brains engage in prejudice, the consequences of prejudice and racism for both racists and people who experience racism in their daily lives, and how understanding these processes suggest ways that we can overcome prejudice and racism in our society.

This is an updated version of similar talks given by Dr. Sherman at Science on Tap events in 2019, 2018, and 2016. It is our hope that by continuing to have these conversations about racism that we can help people understand their own implicit bias from a neuroscience perspective and offer ideas for how to combat racism within ourselves and in our society.

Larry Sherman is a Professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology and in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the Oregon Health & Science University. He is also the President of the Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. He has over 90 publications related to brain development and neurological diseases. He serves on numerous US and international scientific review panels and he has made numerous television appearances, discussing various topics related to neuroscience. He has also given hugely popular talks and performances (including playing the piano) around the globe on topics that include music and the brain, the neuroscience of pleasure and love, and the neuroscience of racism. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Portland Monthly Magazine recognized Dr. Sherman as one of the “People who are changing our world”. He was also the 2012 Teacher of the Year at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine.