A Conversation about Systemic Racism
A good-faith discussion
💬 I know we’ve talked about this a few times, but I thought we should actually have the conversation all the way through. This year has seen a significant increase in protests against racism in various forms. So here’s my question for you: do you believe that systemic racism exists in America?
🗨 No I don’t believe it exists. There are racists, sure. The KKK, neo-Nazis, etc. But most of America isn’t racist anymore. And “systemic” racism, whatever that is, doesn’t exist.
💬 Well, first of all, let’s define systemic racism so we can be talking about the same thing. According to Wikipedia, it’s “a form of racism that is embedded as normal practice within society or an organization.” Derrick Johnson, the current president of the NAACP, clarifies it even further: systemic racism is the collection of “systems and structures that have procedures or processes that disadvantage African Americans.”
So, with those definitions in mind, here’s my question for you: what do you make of all the of racial inequality in America? Black men are more likely to be killed by police, Black women have a much higher maternal mortality rate (and Black children have a much higher infant mortality rate) than their white counterparts, and if current incarceration rates continue, 1 in 3 Black men can expect to be imprisoned in their lifetime:
🗨 We can all agree those inequalities are terrible. They are certainly proof that Black Americans aren’t doing as well as white Americans. But they aren’t proof of some kind of systemic racism.
We live in a nation of personal responsibility. If you want the police to not kill you, do what they say. If you want to live longer, treat your body right. If you don’t want to go to jail, don’t commit crimes.
💬 Aah. So just so I understand what you’re saying: for you, stats like these aren’t proof of systemic racism and should likely be blamed on individuals and their personal choices?
🗨 Exactly. It’s not systemic racism if Black people make bad choices. Plus, Black fathers aren’t usually there to help teach the kids to make better choices. It really boils down to a tragic breakdown of the family. Again — bad, but not racism.
💬 So what if I were to provide you evidence that Black fathers are actually more engaged and more present with their children, that Black people follow police instructions more closely/frequently than white people do, that eating unhealthily isn’t a racial issue but is instead an income issue (since it’s so much more expensive to eat healthily), and that Black people are arrested for crimes at a higher rate (and get longer sentences) than white people even when committing crimes at the same rate?
As one scholar I greatly respect has put it, you can’t really blame entire groups for individual behavior:
Individual behaviors can shape the success [or failure] of individuals. But policies determine the success [or failure] of groups. — Ibram Kendi
To put that another way, no race has the monopoly on bad choices. We all make mistakes sometimes, no matter what race we are.
🗨 So you’re saying it’s my fault that Black women have high levels of maternal mortality and that police arrest Black people at a higher rate for the same crimes? It just seems like the phrase “systemic racism” doesn’t actually mean anything other than to make people feel bad.
💬 No, I’m not saying it’s your fault. That’s the whole point of “systemic” and “institutional” racism. It’s like you said earlier — there are racists out there (who have unfortunately been quite emboldened in recent years), but interpersonal racism isn’t the only kind of racism. There’s also systemic racism. As a reminder, systemic racism can be defined as “systems and structures that have procedures or processes that disadvantage African Americans.”
The procedures of our police systems, our health care systems, and our criminal justice system negatively impact Black people. This is why the New England Journal of Medicine has concluded the following:
Structural racism is insidious, and a large and growing body of literature documents disparate outcomes for different races despite the best efforts of individual health care professionals.
Structural racism, the systems-level factors related to, yet distinct from, interpersonal racism, leads to increased rates of premature death and reduced levels of overall health and well-being. Like other epidemics, structural racism is causing widespread suffering, not only for black people and other communities of color but for our society as a whole.
And that’s not from some partisan hacks or anything — The New England Journal of Medicine is one of the world’s leading medical journals. Structural racism has normalized practices within our society that have brought about a depressing variety of negative outcomes. For example, Black Americans
— have lower health outcomes across the board, and we can’t just blame that trend on income or personal behavior.
— have worse access to education, and that’s not just due to socio-economic status. And before you ask, Black students are not to blame.
— have lower average net worth, more hurdles to getting a job, and (when they do get a job) get paid less than their white counterparts even with similar credentials.
— are still disproportionally affected by rules/laws that make it harder for people to vote.
— are more likely to live in neighborhoods that are exposed to hazardous waste, be subjected to lead paint poisoning, and bear the brunt of the negative effects of climate change.
— are more likely to live in those literally toxic neighborhoods due to generations of careful policies designed to push Black families to the worst parts of town.
🗨 Okay. I see what you’re saying. But what do you want me to do about it? Isn’t it enough to just be a good person and not a racist ?If it’s a big system-wide thing, what do you expect me to do?
💬 That’s the question a lot of us have been asking, and fortunately there are excellent answers. Obviously we need to recognize and address interpersonal racism in ourselves and others as much as we can. And when it comes to systemic racism, the first step is to acknowledge that it exists — we can’t solve a problem we don’t believe exists.
“One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an antiracist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist.” — Ibram Kendi
This means we need to acknowledge that racial inequalities can’t be blamed on individual behavior. In fact, an article published by the American Psychological Association makes a distinction between “active racism” and “passive racism” to explain the effort that goes into opposing racism (emphasis added):
Beverly Tatum, a world-famous child psychologist, has compared racism to a moving walkway in an airport. To be actively racist is to know where the walkway is headed and to choose to move along with it. To be passively racist is to stand idly by as the walkway moves in the same direction as those who are actively racist — a way that maintains and reinforces racial hierarchy. To be antiracist, she argued, is to turn around and to actively move in the opposite direction.
Once we’ve acknowledged that systemic racism exists we need to commit to becoming “antiracist” by walking against the moving walkway, to advocate for actually fixing those systems.
🗨 So let me make sure I understand what you’re saying: it’s not enough for met to just not personally be racist. Instead, the best way to fight against systemic racism is to acknowledge it exists and then walk the opposite way on a moving walkway. I get the part about acknowledging it, but what does that second part actually mean in practice?
💬 In practice, being antiracist means supporting public policy designed to rectify systemic inequalities. It means supporting elected officials who support antiracist public policy. It means looking closely at the other systems we are a part of to locate/address any procedures or processes that disadvantage African Americans directly or indirectly.
It’s not easy, but the efforts we all put forth will make a difference for everyone. And, frankly, it’s urgent. Our society desperately needs more antiracists.
