I see a small african-american family on the street. Just as I begin to see their color, I remember... oh. Color makes no difference at all.
J. Random Racist sees the same family, and does not catch himself.
What is the difference between us? We are both human, both have stereotypes about african-americans and every other category of human. One possible difference is that I have a father who is a social psychologist, and involved in research about stereotype formation. This gives me a mode of thinking about myself that J. Random Racist does not. Another possible difference is that I monitor my own thinking more than he monitors his. In any case, the difference is not in stereotypes, but in the use of them.
This is reflected in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout has stereotypes about Negroes in the book. She learns, though, that using them tends not to be fair. Because of this, she changes her beliefs so that they are fair.
"...an' Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things... Atticus, he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."