Black History Month 2026: Intent vs. Impact

Day 20

This is going to be a short one, but it still needs to be said. Both intent and impact matter. Intent is what you were trying to accomplish with your words and/or actions. Impact is the result.

For example, let’s say you accidentally ran into someone on the way to the store and caused them to drop their groceries. While you didn’t INTEND to run into a person, the IMPACT was that you did run into them and now their groceries are all over the ground. Even though it was an accident, your actions created a problem that needs to be addressed.

Racism works in the same way, especially microaggressions. According to Merriam-Webster, a microaggression is “a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority) [1].” Note the word “unintentionally.” While you didn’t INTEND to say something discriminatory, the IMPACT is you accidentally hurt someone. That hurt needs to be addressed. In many cases, a simple apology is enough. Microaggressions don’t make you a bad person. Instead of getting defensive, try to understand the mistake you made and do better next time.

That’s is just one of many examples of why intent vs. impact is important. The photo above is another. While she may not have intended to pull the focus away from Black people with her post, the impact was her post being another way of saying “all lives matter.”

Source:

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microaggression

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