Systemic Racism. What does this even mean?

Well, it is just not about you and me and asking ourselves the personal question, “Am I a racist?” It extends far beyond people and into our society that we all live in together. Another term for systemic racism is institutionalized racism — as its very foundation racism resides in the institutions that make up our society — that make up America.

For many, it’s difficult to believe that racism lies not just within individuals, but also the governing bodies, the organizations that hold power, and the very way our society is set up to favor one race over another. I believe we are a nation founded on slavery and even though there was a civil war and the slaves were supposedly “freed,” there are many other ways to enslave black people in American society.

One of the places we can see this most clearly is within the criminal justice sector of our society. From the police that patrol our streets to the lawyers and judges who prosecute, defend, and give out sentences, to our for-profit federal prisons that make money off of the number of bodies in these places, racism resides in the very fabric of society in a way that is insidious.

What can white people do? What can multi-racial people do? What can black people do? I see the protests, I hear the chants, I see the economic disparity, I feel the pain, I read the outraged posts, and more. And yet it does not change. How do we change the very founding of America?

There are many people who want to do just that. We are busy reading books, talking with one another, becoming real and honest about the way we act with privilege each of our days, and growing our own personal consciousness can then lead to individual action. This is good, right, and just action.

However, if racism is institutionalized and a part of the system that is in place and resists change — and has leaders that support racism remaining in place – then how can our personal actions that become collective – actually get this to change. And it’s not a Democrat or a Republican thing, it is an American problem. And people in power do not want to be powerless — so that needle hardly moves. This thought often leads me to despair.

Is the fight good and just? Of course. Will people stop fighting? Of course not.

However, perhaps something more needs to shift – societally, institutionally – for any of this change to take hold.

This is what systemic racism does — it holds even as people are broken down.