(1) Read the following material on Institutional/Systemic Racism
According George Harris, President of Race Forward and publisher of Colorlines, systemic racism “creates disparities in many ‘success indicators’ including wealth, the criminal justice system, employment, housing, health care, politics and education.” The well-known origin is slavery of Black peoples from Africa, which eventually gave way to lynchings by the KKK, indentured servitude, and Jim Crow segregation laws, all of which set up a racial hierarchy that continued to be reinforced by American institutions. For example, Social Security was established in the 1930s, but initially excluded domestic and agricultural workers, 2/3 of Black workers. Mortgage lending programs of post-WWII disenfranchised Black Americans after banks refused them loans, as federal policy stated that home values in an area were reduced if there was even one Black resident. In the last decades, higher prison sentences for those using cheaper crack than more expensive powder cocaine has resulted in long sentences for poorer Americans, disproportionately Black Americans, rather than for White Americans.
The effects of these policies continue today. The lack of Social Security kept Black Americans working into old age or forced some to the streets. The median income of Black households was half that of White households in 2017, according to the Census Bureau. “Tough on crime” policies produced a skyrocketing Black prison population, which has torn apart families and added to single-parent, poorer households. Police violence, the coronavirus pandemic, the pollution in Black neighborhoods (the neighborhoods themselves the legacy of housing discrimination), and even lack of nutritious food make continued systemic discrimination a matter of life and death.
This information is from:
https://time.com/5851855/systemic-racism-america/.
(2) Explore graphical evidence of institutional/systemic racism. https://www.businessinsider.com/us-systemic-racism-in-charts-graphs-data-2020-6
(3) Write down five pieces of evidence from the graphs (from #3 above) on institutional/systemic racism that particularly stood out to you.
(4) Provide commentary on why you chose each of the five pieces of evidence and how you felt about learning it.
(5) Discuss what the U.S./you might be able to do in order to address each of the pieces of evidence.