Racism

Brenda Gomez
Martha Nowacki
Robbie Agerbeek
 Overview
I. What are the implications of not being able to recognize the race of someone by just seeing their faces?
II. Introduce the idea that race forms within the family/surrounding community
III. What is Institutional Racism?
A. How is it portrayed within society, through the media?
B. Why is it considered a social problem? Popular constructions and critical constructionists?
C. What is a start to begin solving/lessening the problem? Are we addressing this--what indicators exist that show
progression & no progression?
D. Policies/Laws regarding this issue
E. Research on this issue
IV. Conclusion
 “Matching races Test” Question
How can you use what you learned from this activity in the future? Do you think you are more aware now of
how racism is portrayed by society? What can you do to change the views of racism within your community?

● We assume that we know things based on the generic traits and knowledge that we have on how
someone looks.
○ Just because we think that someone looks prototypically doesn’t mean that they automatically belong within that
category
○ When we see people, it is a natural instinct in which we feel like we need to categorize them
 Claim

Institutional racism is a significant issue within

the United States, therefore society needs to
make change in order to “tackle” this problem.
 Video

https://youtu.be
/xdyin6uipy4
 Institutional Racism
● Definition: Racial discrimination that has become established as normal behavior within a society or
organization . (Oxford Dictionaries)
● Understand that race is a social construction of the dominant group (whites)
○ Indicator of differences in status
● Racism forms within the family
○ According to an article by James Burnett, Mahzarin Banaji (Co-Author of Blindspot) has new, not yet
published research in which she and colleagues say that “even though they may not understand the
“why’’ of their feelings, children exposed to racism tend to accept and embrace it as young as age 3, and
in just a matter of days”.
■ Although children learn to be prejudiced from an early age, it is not always the family’s
fault because as they grow, their environment changes and so do their thoughts and ideas.
● Institutional Racism experts say that within the healthcare system, health service providers offer specific
treatment and care to patients based on their race
Racism in The Media & Society
 Research Findings
● Employers prefer white applicants
● Racial Minority groups systematically disadvantaged
● More than 60% of black and Latino students attend high poverty schools
● 1/3 young black men will spend time in prison during his lifetime
● Black children are 3x more likely to be suspended compared to white children
● Black children are 18x more likely to be sentenced as adults compared to white children
● Black college graduates are 2x as likely as whites to struggle to find jobs
● 73% of whites own homes, 43% of blacks own homes
● Racism exists in the U.S. healthcare system
 Critical and Popular Constructions
Critical: What something is based on facts and research through numerous sources

Popular: What everyone likes to believe, usually based on overall belief of a population

Critical Examples: 13th shows us that institutional racism is still very much prevalent today due to the many thousands
of African Americans being incarcerated everyday in comparison to whites--this being the case after the War on Drugs
became a thing.

Popular Examples: After the abolishment of slavery and openly racist acts, racism does not exist anymore. For
example, the KKK is no longer burning crosses and hanging people in the community, racism is not a problem in the
United States.
 Progression
● It is not seen directly anymore, but is seen as overt/hidden racism
● Stephen Henderson article:
○ “But let’s talk more broadly about Sessions. About his withdrawal from consent agreements with police
departments that have long records of singling out black citizens for harsh, and often violent or deadly,
treatment. About his out-of-nowhere announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice would begin
“investigating” universities that practice affirmative action in their admissions policies. About his
doubling down on bellicose prosecution strategies that have led, over decades, to gross imbalances
between the black and white prison populations in America.”
● Today discrimination is less identifiable
● Great progress has been made, however racial discrimination remains an important factor in shaping current
patterns of both social and economic inequality
● The constitutional rights denied to blacks in the past are still relevant
 Policy and Laws

● Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, or ethnic
origin

● Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA): Creditors cannot discriminate against credit applicants on the basis of race, color,
religion etc.

● U.S. Code Title 42, Chapter 21-Civil Rights: Title 42, Chapter 21 of the U.S.: Prohibits discrimination based on race in a
number of settings (workplace, education, federal services, public accommodations etc.)

● Fair Housing Act (FHA): Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in regards to the sale, rental and financing of housing

● Voting Acts Right of 1965 (VAR): Bans the denial of voting rights based on race and it forbids discrimination in voting
practices

● Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act: Provides equitable and impartial relief without discrimination on the basis
of race, color, religion, nationality etc.
 “Possible” Solutions

1. Dismantle the system

2. Acknowledge biases
3. Educate yourself--be open, not thinking you’re the expert
4. Speak up
5. Get political and get involved locally
 References
Institutional Racism | Definition of institutional racism in English by Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2017, from
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/institutional_racism

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2017/08/19/reality-racism-america-continues-deny/583584001/

https://www.aclu.org/other/drug-war-new-jim-crow

https://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/staffing/9.7_discrimination.htm

http://civilrights.findlaw.com/discrimination/race-discrimination-applicable-laws.html

https://www.attn.com/stories/10565/chart-reveals-problem-with-definition-of-modern-racism

https://anthropology.net/2008/10/01/race-as-a-social-construct/

http://pb.rcpsych.org/content/31/10/363.short#sec-4

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/06/09/harvard-researcher-says-children-learn-racism-
quickly/gWuN1ZG3M40WihER2kAfdK/story.html

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/how-many-americans-dont-believe-racism-is-a-problem-in-the-us-four-graphs-that-explore-race-in-
america
● Aronson, E. (2012). The Social Animal. New York : Worth Publishers.
● https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2915460/pdf/nihms222293.pdf
● https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1043&context=
jpmsp
● https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2015/05/06/institutional-racism-is-our-way-of-life)
● http://www.demos.org/blog/new-hud-report-shows-continued-discrimination-against-people-color
● http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2015/08/racial_disparities_in_the_criminal_justice_system_eight_charts_illust
rating.html
● https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3244674/pdf/nihms-192218.pdf
● "Is White Supremacy Mainstream?" Dr. Lisa Garoutte & Dr. Neely Farren-Eller talk, November 28, 2017