Essay on Systematic and Institutional Racism

In the American society, racism is a provocative word that is so offensive that some people consider it a curse word in a way. Yet, it cannot be denied that racism is a term that describes reality. Issues to do with race are so prevalent in the American society to the extent that they almost appear to be an integral component. Certain Americans are of the opinion that race is the main determinant of human beings capabilities and abilities. Their behavior suggests that racial differences result in Europeans Americans, better known as whites, being considered inherently superior. In fact, such people treat whites and people of color differently just because of ethnicity or race. Consequently, people of color, made up of blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans, are affected by actions or judgments that are racist either directly or indirectly. This essay looks at the issue of institutional and systematic racism in the United States.

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Over the last four decades or so, most of the attention has been focused on racist behavior on an individual level. However, it is not just individuals that can whose actions can be considered racist. Institutions can also behave in a manner that is either overtly or inherently racist. Overt racism involves the specific exclusion of people of color from accessing various services. On the other hand, inherent racism is where policies are adopted that, despite not directly excluding non-whites, nonetheless lead to their exclusion. Hence, institutions can treat whites and non-whites differently; something that hurts people of color and is considered racist in its result if not in intent.

Institutional racism, also referred to as systematic racism, is a type of racism that is structured into social and political institutions. It takes place when governments, institutions or organizations discriminate, either intentionally or directly, against specified groups of individuals with the intention of limiting their rights. This kind of racism is a reflection of a dominant groups cultural assumptions. That groups practices are perceived as the norm and that other groups should conform to them. The practice systematically and regularly favors some cultural and ethnic groups while marginalizing others.

Often, institutional racism is quite difficult to recognize and mitigate, especially when it is perpetrated by governments and institutions that do not consider themselves as racist. When occurring in a variety of social contexts, this kind of racism underpins the marginalization already felt by certain groups of people. For instance, racism directed towards students at institutions of education can lead to early dropouts and poor quality of academics. If it goes hand in hand with discrimination in the workplace, such students may miss employment opportunities upon completing school and result in higher unemployment levels for the community from which they come from. Consequently, lower levels of income coupled with discrimination when it comes to providing goods and services limit access to healthcare, housing, and opportunities in life generally. From such a situation, systematic racism may especially impact minority groups, further limiting how they access various services and participate in the society at large.

To understand institutional racism in the United States, it is worth looking at some of the prevalent statistics associated with it. A good place to start would be in educational institutions. African-American pupils in pre-school are far more likely to be suspended when compared to white ones. While 18 percent of the pupils in pre-school are blacks, they make up almost half of all cases of suspension. In K-12 education system, African American students are three times more likely to undergo suspension than white ones. According to the US Department of Education, almost 40% of all cases of expulsion are of black students, with over two-thirds of those referred to the authorities from schools being either African American or Hispanic. Even black children with disabilities are not spared from systematic racism. Roughly a fifth of disabled children happen to be African America, yet they account a significant percentage of those placed in seclusion or put in mechanical restraints. In the juvenile court system, discrimination against African Americans is there as well. According to the American Psychologists Association (APA), black children stand 18 times more chance of being sentenced as grown-ups when compared to white ones. Within juvenile court proceedings, black offenders have a much higher likelihood of being perceived as adults than those from other races.

When it comes to the workplace, African American graduates from college are twice as likely to have a hard time finding employment as whites-with the unemployment for blacks being double that of whites for years. According to a study, individuals having names that sounds as if they belong to blacks had to send out 50% more job applications than those with names that sound like they belong to whites in order to get an interview consideration. The same case applies to salaries and remunerations. For each rise in pay amounting to $10,000, the chances of blacks getting that job reduces by 7% when compared to whites.

Systemic racism is also prevalent in American communities and neighborhoods. While about 73% of whites have their own homes, just 43% of African Americans do. The gap between the media income per household for whites and blacks is enormous, and has increased threefold over the last three decades or so. The figure for whites is $91,000 while that of blacks is $7,000. The average net worth of white families is in the tune of $265,000 while that of African Americans is $28,000.

When it comes to interactions with the authorities and the judicial system, systematic racism once again rears its ugly head. An African American male is three times more likely to be stopped and searched by traffic police, and six times more likely to be sent to prison than a white male. African Americans make up almost 40% of all arrests made in connection with violent crimes. Blacks are not pulled over by the police and consequently jailed more often than whites because they are more likely to commit criminal behavior. It is because there is a prevalent racist association of African Americans with aggressive or violent behavior. The instances of police stops become even more outrageous in certain parts of the nation. In the city of New York, Hispanics and blacks are four and three times more likely to be stopped and searched as whites, respectively.

The disparities triggered by systematic racism become appalling in the justice system. If a black individual murders a white one, he or she is twice more likely to be sentenced to death than if a white kills a black. Local prosecutors have a higher likelihood of upgrading a case to felony murder if the suspect is African American than if he or she is white. Juries are usually heavily biased against black defendants. Also, the level of racial bias is ridiculous when it comes to jury selection. Black jurors that are qualified are unfairly turned away during the process of choosing a jury as much as 80% of the time. The result is that roughly a quarter of all juries in cases to do with death penalty have no African American jurors, and over two-thirds have not more than two. If a black individual is accused of murdering a white person and a jury is made up of at least five white people, the chances of a death penalty verdict increase. Prosecutors and defense attorney are aware that the presence of just a single African American juror significantly alters the odds.

Black convicts serve longer prison sentences than their white counterparts, usually about 20% longer than whites incarcerated for essentially similar felonies. In addition, sentences for African Americans are much harsher- they are 38% more likely to get death sentences than whites for similar felonies. The ethnicity of victims is a major factor when determining the punishment given for capital crimes. Blacks and whites represent roughly half of all victims of murder year in year out. However, 77% of convicts sentenced to death murdered a white person; while a mere 13% of those executed are accused of murdering a black person.

It is also worth looking at what caused the widespread systematic racism in the United States. An average American may exhibit a racist attitude towards certain groups. However, racism would not have flourished if various institutions had not propagated discrimination directed at people of color for centuries. For instance, slavery kept black people in captivity for a long time. In addition, other institutions played a role in upholding slavery and segregation; a good example being the church. Racism when practical has resulted in unorthodox medical experiments in which people of color are used as guinea pigs. Similarly, ethnic minorities are today still getting substandard medical treatment. Nowadays, certain groups such as African Americans, people from the Middle East, south Asians and Hispanics are always being racially profiled for various reasons. Failure to wipe out institutional racism leaves little or no hope that racial discrimination will ever come to an end in the United States.

Slavery is probably the event that left the greatest imprint on racial relations in the history of America. Even today, it still fuels racial discrimination and racist attitudes across the world. despite the far-reaching consequences of slavery, not many Americans know the basic facts about it, such as how it all started, the number of Africans that were shipped to the Americas to works as slaves, and when it came to an end. For instance, slavery continued in the state of Texas for about two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln. Before it was officially ended, slaves fought for their own freedom by taking part in rebellions. Their descendants fought against the perpetuation of racism in the course of the Civil Rights Movement.

Systematic racism has been evident in US healthcare in the past and it still evident even today. Notable incidences include studies funded by the US government to allow poverty stricken African American men succumb to syphilis. Also, prisoners in Guatemala, soldiers and mental health patients were intentionally infected with sexually transmitted diseases. Some government agencies also participated in the sterilization of Africa American women in North Carolina, Native American and Puerto Rican women. Nowadays, health care institutions seem to be making inroads in reaching out to ethnic minority groups. A good example is the milestone survey of African American females carried out by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Second World War saw some advancements and setbacks in racial matters in the United States. For one, it gave marginalized communities such as Native Americans, blacks and Asians a chance to prove that they had the intellect and skill needed to participate and excel in the military. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan triggered the evacuation of Japanese Americans from the US West Coast to be held in detention centers for fear that they had loyalties to Japan. The US government was to offer an official apology years later for how it treated them. All in all, none of them were found to have taken part in spying during the war.

Churches and other religious organizations have not been left out in participating in institutional racism. Several Christian denominations have offered apologies for their discrimination against people of color through their backing of slavery and support for Jim Crow laws. Examples of Christian organizations that have in recent years offer...