In 2016, 92% blacks in America said that white people benefitted a lot from advantages that black people do not have (Bialik 2018). It was also proven that a majority of people who seem to not think that there is an unfair advantage between the two races also was in support of Donald Trump. The health field, criminal justice system and other aspects of everyday living were all on this list of things that are different between white people and people of colour in America. The big problem is that this huge issue isn’t really talked about on the level that it should be. This issue is called institutional racism and most people don’t know about it or even think it’s not a real issue. Institutional racism is a very real issue in society and it is important that everyone knows about it. It affects the daily life of every person of colour and must be taught in order to be fought.
In 1985, New York City’s Health Commissioner Mary Bassett arrived in Zimbabwe to help with the health epidemic. The year that she arrived is the same year that the first known AIDS case was reported in Zimbabwe. From the time Mary Bassett was in Zimbabwe until the time she left, the infection rate for AIDS rose from 2% to 25%. In her time there, she had to give people the bad news of having HIV and even saw patients, students, and friends pass tragically. Her and other health professionals set up clinics to try to help combat this epidemic. School education, condom demonstrations and workplace interventions all were implemented to help fight this disease. Research, counselling, and lots of hard work were also done and used to help infected men protect, not only themselves, but others from contracting the disease. “We worked hard, and at the time, I believed that I was doing my best. I was providing excellent treatment, such as it was. But I was not talking about structural change” (Bassett 2015).
In 2015, it was projected that 39 million people had lost their lives to AIDS. Mary Bassett says she regrets not having done more earlier on to combat the disease. She was not only regretful for not doing more about the disease itself, she was also regretful for not trying to influence any structural change within the government. “I was aware that socially marginalized populations were at disproportionate risk of getting and dying of AIDS” (Bassett 2015). Mary Bassett then explains that biology isn’t the only element that is the reason for the spread of epidemics. Discrimination against race, gender, class, sexuality and many other aspects play a very crucial part in the spread of diseases. “I’m speaking up about a lot of things, even when it makes listeners uncomfortable, even when it makes me uncomfortable. And a lot of this is about racial disparities and institutionalized racism, things that we’re not supposed to have in this country anymore, certainly not in the practice of medicine or public health” (Bassett 2015).
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This incident of blatant racism is just an example of what institutional racism truly is. ““Institutional Racism is the systematic distribution of resources, power and opportunity in our society to the benefit of people who are white and the exclusion of people of color” (SolidGround.org). This is an issue that has plagued America for years on years. Regular racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (Merriam-webster.com). Institutional racism is racism but on a deeper level. Institutional racism affects medical treatments, the judicial system, and even clean water supply. These seem like major keys, but the sad truth is that every aspect of everyday life is affected by institutional racism. Housing, education, banking, public health, and criminal justice also are affected greatly. A church group by the name of the Emmanuel Gospel Centre wrote an article in which it gave a fictional yet very true example on how institutional racism affects two different races. The Gospel Center takes the everyday life of a Caucasian boy and an African-American boy and running through what is different about their everyday lives. Ryan, the Caucasian boy, grew up in a nice home with great access to healthcare, a wonderful private school, and even went on to get a job right after graduating from college. Jamal, on the other hand, is the African-American boy.
Although his parents made the same income as Ryan’s, his GPA was the same, and he graduated under the same major, the outcome of his life was very different. He grew up in low-income housing which worsened his health. Based off of his housing, he went to an underfunded school and did not get the same education. After graduating from high school, he went on to college and since he grew up with less income he had more student debt. He had the same qualifications as Ryan but got way less call-backs due to him having a “black sounding name”. This tragic scenario is the reality of many minority youth in the United States and what is even more terrible is that they don’t even know they are in this loop. That is why it is so important to know the truth of institutional racism so that we can better combat it.
As mentioned in the paragraph above, one of the reasons for institutional racism still existing and being as prominent as it is in society is the fact that people do not know exactly what it is. A source named the Aspen Institute publishes a vast number of articles that fight political and social issues. One of these articles were about 11 key terms that will help the average American learn more about institutional racism. The terms are as following: Structural Racism, Racial Equity, Systematic Racism, White Privilege, Institutional Racism, Individual Racism, Diversity, Ethnicity, Cultural Representations, National Values, and Progress & Retrenchment. Structural Racism is when public policies and other practices work together to further the progress of racial inequality. It exists in all political and social systems.
Racial Equity is what a happy and non-racist society would be. Race would affect nothing in society and everything would be even among all people. This is not what we live in as people of colour are more likely to live in poverty and unemployment. Systematic racism is basically the same thing as structural racism. White privilege is the belief that white people have an advantage in all things in everyday life. “White privilege refers to whites’ historical and contemporary advantages in access to quality education, decent jobs and liveable wages, homeownership, retirement benefits, wealth and so on. (Aspen Institute).” Institutional racism refers to practices imbedded into institutions which help put racial groups at a disadvantage whether it was intended or not. Individual racism is actions that happen directly between two parties. Diversity is the inclusion of all races in an equal and fair way. Not only races, but this includes gender, religion and sexual orientation. “Ethnicity refers to the social characteristics that people may have in common, such as language, religion, regional background, culture, foods, etc. (Aspen Institute).” Cultural Representation can be positive or negative. It involves showing different races in positions of power so that people of that race believe that can be them too at some point. Stereotypes are the negative aspect of this.
Fairness, respect, responsibility and equality are examples of national values. They are simple the good and moral way people should act. “Progress and Retrenchment refers to the pattern in which progress is made through the passage of legislation, court rulings and other formal mechanisms that aim to promote racial equality” (Aspen Institute). These terms must be spread more throughout society so that everyday Americans are more educated on problems that face minorities on a daily basis. Without a basic understanding on what’s going on in the country, nothing can get fixed because everything will go unnoticed.
Some people don’t know about institutional racism while some people believe its just not real. Some Americans see what’s going on but they don’t believe that race is a key factor in anything. Others believe that institutional racism is just used as an excuse to not try harder than everyone else. “When the left cries out about “institutional racism”, they are referring to people of power and influence who have an unconscious bias against minority groups, elongating the pathway to success for all minorities. This argument essentially shifts the focus away from personal choice and responsibility by spreading the idea that non-whites have a limited control over their lives and that the “system” is cheating them” (Park 2017). Even though America has a brutal history of oppressing many minority groups, some people seem to believe that no matter where you come from, everyone has the same chance to make it in life. No matter whether you were born in a broken home, low-income family, or even no family, anybody through hard work and dedication can reach any levels in society. The Merion West website says that going to school and getting a job is the successful route that should be taken and that it is an obtainable goal for any American. They also state single parenthood as another big factor instead of institutional racism. Then they give statistics from the census bureau that backs up the fact that a two-parent black household has a lower poverty level than a single parent white household.
Lastly, they go on to state that the single mother rate in the black community is very high, but this can only be blamed on the lack of good fathers that stay in their child’s life. This is very true because no one can make a man stay in his child’s life except for that exact man. “These facts show that an individual’s likelihood of poverty can be determined not by skin color or some other immutable trait, but by personal responsibility and decisions” (Park 2017). Along with accounts of racially motivated attacks being found to be fake, fake news and personal responsibility should be held accountable but not institutional racism.
As some may think that everyone should stop blaming institutional racism and just “pick themselves up”, it is not that easy in America. From being unfairly targeted by police to being treated badly in the health field, there are a lot of factors that one cannot just beat. Yes, a white person can be born poor just the same as a black person, but with so many other things in society and the government. The criminal justice system, healthcare, education, housing, employment, credit, immigration and voting rights are all effected, and all must be combatted and made fair in America before anyone can say that everybody has a fair chance. Regarding the criminal justice system, a couple of things must be fixed. The disproportionate incarceration of men, the number of police stops and arrests, and the outcome of these arrests are all very unfair for people of colour. “Of African American young men who dropped out of high school, 37% were incarcerated in 2008, compared to less than 1% of the general population” (Grad Team 2016). This statistic is not because African American men are getting in more trouble than the general population. It is because they are targeted a lot more than the general population.
Alongside new laws such as stop-and-frisk, African Americans are stopped more along the street. In one study, it was found that minorities were pulled over and arrested 30% more than white people. This is one simple thing that no citizen should have to go through. Relating to health care, black patients usually have a longer time of travel for emergency care, lower quality hospitals, and a shortage of primary care physicians. “Black, Latina, and Native-American mothers may be more likely to have unnecessary caesarean deliveries” (Grad Team 2016). This also must be solved quick because if a citizen in America can’t even get proper help in a hospital there is nowhere else to go. In 2019, it seems terrible to say but segregation is still very prominent in American schools. This is due to white students being more enrolled into charter and private schools. Also, children of colour are also treated more harshly within the school system. This must be disputed quickly because school is one place where a child can go and feel safe. If the school system is against a child at a young age, how is the child supposed to get a fair shake at life? These reasons are why just because a white person can be poor and make it from nothing it’s still a lot harder for an African American. It’s not impossible to make something from nothing but when you have the government against you it is a lot harder.
Institutional racism is a big problem that is plaguing every African American and person of colour in America. It affects the health, personal and mental life of millions of minorities a year. As big of a deal as this is, it is very unknown in society. It is our duty as citizens to be aware and to teach others about this and to help each other combat it. We have to fix aspects within our own communities and to make changes. The health field, criminal justice system and the political system must all be worked on to ensure the rights of all Americans are fair and just.
Works Cited
- “11 Terms You Should Know to Better Understand Structural Racism.” The Aspen Institute, 29 Aug. 2017, www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/structural-racism-definition/.
- Bassett, Mary. Ted, Ted, www.ted.com/talks/mary_bassett_why_your_doctor_should_care_about_social_justice.
- Bialik, Kristen. “5 Facts about Blacks in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 22 Feb. 2018, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/02/22/5-facts-about-blacks-in-the-u-s/.
- Clarke, David. “Systemic Racism Is so Rare in America, the Media Just Can’t Stop Lying about It.” TheHill, The Hill, 13 Nov. 2017, thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/360083-systemic-racism-is-so-rare-in-america-the-media-just-cant-stop-lying
- McHenry, Gordon, and Gordon McHenry. “Solid Ground Stands Against Racism.” Solid Ground, 7 May 2014, www.solid-ground.org/solid-ground-stands-against-racism/.
- McKenzie Kwame, Bhui Kamaldeep. Institutional racism in mental health care BMJ 2007; 334 :649
- Team, Grad. “How to End Institutional Racism.” Contexts How to End Institutional Racism Comments, contexts.org/blog/how-to-end-institutional-racism/.
