Question

Do you think that there is still institutionalized racial discrimination in the United States today and if so, how is it implemented and by whom?

Answer 1

• The roots of racism run deep. They permeate our culture beyond the existence of racial slurs and persist regardless of our first black president.
• To see examples of systemic racism, you don’t even need to look far. If you have gone to school, lived in a house, had a job, or been to the doctor, you’ve likely been hurt or helped by institutional racism at some point in your life.
• Institutional racism, or systemic racism, is defined as the pattern of social and political systems discriminating against a group of people based on race.
• Institution racism is real. Systemic bias exists. Some examples of how our systems treat people of color differently and how it shows that institutional racism is still a very real problem.
• Black people are 12 times more likely to be wrongly convicted of drug-related crimes than white people.A new study on wrongful convictions shows how the justice system disproportionately affects black people. The study found that among three types of crimes (murder, sexual assault, and drug crimes) black people were consistently more likely to be wrongfully convicted.
• 13 percent of all black men are denied the right to vote.The disproportionate incarceration rates have an impact beyond time spent in jail. Because people convicted of felonies are not allowed to vote in many states, more than one out of every 10 black men cannot participate in one of the cornerstones of our democracy.
• 74 percent of black students and 80 percent of Latino students attend schools that are more than half-minority populations.Racial bias is especially prevalent in the way schools discipline student of color versus white students. Black students are suspended and expelled at three times the rate of white students. This especially affects female students of color, as they are “suspended at higher rates than girls of any other race or ethnicity and most boys.”
  
• Asian American homebuyers are shown 20 percent fewer homes than white homebuyers.The practice of redlining still exists, which involves denying funding or services based on the racial demographics of an area.
• We experience them every day. But like with any other problem, the first step is acknowledging there is something wrong. Once we do that, we can start fixing these systems so they truly help all people.
• The government and other official institutions all need to work on thes disparities more strictly to America free from any kind of racial discrimination. Just by talking about it and highlighing some minor improvements is ignoring the bigger picture and the root causes of the problems.