The Impact of Systemic Racism and Discrimination on the Black Community
The Black community has been subject to systemic racism and discrimination for centuries, and it's still happening today. Their history is a tumultuous one. From the days of America’s national human trafficking government-funded program (aka slavery) to today, Black people have been forced into dealing with systemic racism and discrimination. This has led to economic inequality, educational disparities, and health disparities. However, we must remember that we are not alone in this fight for equality. Jim Crow never ended. It’s only evolved to where we stand today. So please do yourself and everyone else a favor and educate yourself on the facts of this reality. Below is a link from HBCU Howard University’s School of Law that goes into more depth about this (1). And the fight for civil rights continues, and as a nation, we must act so that all people can live free from discrimination regardless of race or ethnicity.
What is Systemic Racism?
Systemic racism refers to a pattern of social, economic, and political policies and practices that create and maintain racial inequalities and discrimination within a society, often perpetuated by institutions and systems. It goes beyond individual acts of discrimination and includes systematic bias and structural disadvantage based on race.
Systemic racism refers to how the privileged majority, White/European Americans, treat Black and other People of Color unfairly or unequally. It is "a system of privilege, oppression, and discrimination that keeps people from achieving their full potential." So, for example, if you're a Black woman in America and you are not getting paid as much as your White colleagues for doing the same job—that's systemic racism!
Systemic racism and discrimination are a problem in the United States, significantly damaging the Black community. To understand the impact of systemic racism and discrimination on the Black community, we must first understand how it affects them.
What Are the Effects of Systemic Racism?
The effects of systemic racism are numerous, wide-ranging, and deep-seated. People of Color in America are more likely to be unemployed, receive lower-quality healthcare, and pay higher premiums for insurance than White/European Americans. Black women are three times more likely than White women to die from breast cancer. The CDC reports that Black women experience two to three times higher maternal mortality than White women. (2) Black children are four times more likely than White children to be suspended from school, which significantly impacts parenting and child development and has contributed to the School to Prison Pipeline (3). It is no wonder; Black men are nearly twice as likely as White men to be incarcerated in state or federal prisons (4).
Systemic racism is a problem that affects everyone, including Whites. White people benefit from systems of oppression and domination because they benefit from the privileges they are afforded in countless ways. For example, when police officers kill unarmed Black men and women, they often experience immunity —and (5) continue to avoid accountability. Though state statutes vary, generally, officers are permitted to use deadly force if they reasonably perceive imminent danger — a standard that is overly subjective and prone to racial bias (6).
What Are Some Specific Examples of Systemic Racism?
These examples include:
Racial profiling by law enforcement is targeting individuals for a suspected criminal activity based on their race or ethnicity. An example of racial profiling would be a police officer searching a Black person simply because he fits the stereotype without reasonable suspicion.
Housing discrimination and redlining: Treating people differently in sales or financing based on their race is a practice of treating people differently. Redlining is a specific form of housing discrimination in which financial institutions refuse to provide loans or insurance services, often because of the racial composition of those areas. An example of redlining would be a real estate agent steering away a Black family from a predominantly White neighborhood.
Inadequate access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities: An example of this would be a Black student attending an underfunded and under-resourced school with limited educational opportunities and fewer resources compared to predominantly White schools, a Black person being refused medical treatment or receiving lower quality care because of their race, or a Black job applicant being passed over for employment due to their name or race, despite being equally or more qualified than other candidates.
Voting suppression and gerrymandering: Vote suppression makes it difficult for a particular group of people to vote, including Black people. Gerrymandering is the manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor one political group. A practice among states to spread out Black and Brown communities, leaving them too few to have success in their preferred candidates winning an election (7).
Environmental racism and unequal distribution of environmental hazards: There is a disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards in Communities of Color, especially in Black communities. An example would be the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, where most victims were low-income, Black residents. This contributes to the unequal health consequences for Black communities (8).
Mass incarceration and disproportionate sentences for People of Color: Mass incarceration refers to the high rate of imprisonment and the unreasonable impact it has on communities of color, especially Black communities. Disproportionate sentencing refers to the unequal treatment of People of Color in the criminal justice system. An example of mass incarceration and excessive sentences is a Black person given a longer prison sentence than a White person for the same non-violent drug offense (9). Unequal treatment in the criminal justice system: An example of unequal treatment in the criminal justice system for Black Americans is higher arrest rates, longer prison sentences, and more frequent use of force by law enforcement compared to white Americans who have committed similar crimes.
Racial wage gaps and workplace discrimination: The racial wage gap refers to the disparity in earnings between workers of different races, with workers of color, including Black workers. Workplace discrimination refers to unequal treatment of employees in the workplace based on their race or ethnicity.
Health disparities and unequal access to quality health care: Health disparities refer to differences in health outcomes and access to healthcare based on race and ethnicity. An example of health disparities and unequal access to healthcare in Black Americans is a Black person having a higher risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease but receiving lower quality medical care and fewer opportunities for preventative care (10).
In the United States, racism is a problem that has plagued our nation since its inception. The history of slavery and the Jim Crow laws that followed it has left an indelible mark on Black Americans, who continue to suffer from systemic racism and discrimination today.
In conclusion, systemic racism affects every aspect of life for Black and Brown people in America. It is a deeply ingrained and pervasive issue that affects individuals and communities on multiple levels. It requires a sustained and concerted effort from all sectors of society to recognize, understand, and dismantle its effects. It also needs those with skin privilege to stand up and speak up. Racism and discrimination have a devastating impact on the Black community. We must continue to advocate for what is right and what is good.
The journey toward a more just and equitable society is long, but each step taken toward ending systemic racism brings us closer to a world in which all individuals are valued and treated with dignity and respect.
References:
1. Jim Crow Era - A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States - HUSL Library at Howard University School of Law. [online] library.law.howard.edu. Available at: https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/jimcrow [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
2. Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2020. [online] cdc.gov. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2020/maternal-mortality-rates-2020.htm [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
3. School-to-Prison Pipeline | American Civil Liberties Union. [online] aclu.org. Available at: https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/juvenile-justice-school-prison-pipeline [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
4. Race and ethnicity | Prison Policy Initiative. [online] prisonpolicy.org. Available at: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/research/race_and_ethnicity/#:~:text=Barred%20from%20employment%3A%20More%20than,25%25%20have%20been%20incarcerated.%E2%80%9D [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
5. Police Who Kill Unarmed Black People Continue to Avoid Accountability. [online] eji.org. Available at: https://eji.org/news/lack-of-accountability-for-police-who-kill-unarmed-black-people-persists/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
6. Few Police Officers Who Cause Deaths Are Charged or Convicted - The New York Times. [online] nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/us/police-killings-prosecution-charges.html [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
7. How racial gerrymandering deprives black people of political power - The Washington Post. [online] washingtonpost.com. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/09/how-a-widespread-practice-to-politically-empower-african-americans-might-actually-harm-them/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
8. Environmental Racism: What It is and How You Can Fight It | The Climate Reality Project. [online] climaterealityproject.org. Available at: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/environmental-racism-what-it-and-how-you-can-fight-it [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
9. The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons – The Sentencing Project. [online] sentencingproject.org. Available at: https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/the-color-of-justice-racial-and-ethnic-disparity-in-state-prisons-the-sentencing-project/ [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].
10. J. Nwando Olayiwola: Combating Racism and Place-ism in Medicine | TED Talk. [online] ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/j_nwando_olayiwola_combating_racism_and_place_ism_in_medicine [Accessed 1 Jan. 1970].