Discussion: Race, Housing, and Systemic Bias

Purpose:

Many of us have had little experience with the many different racial groups in our country, and have thought very little about race, either our own or others. But an understanding of systemic racial inequality in the United State is important for understanding our economic, political, and social structure, both in the past and today.

Goals:

    • To recognize the importance of race in aspects of daily life

    • To help students to increase their comfort with discussing race

    • To illustrate the concept of systemic racism (as opposed to personal bias)

Groups: This discussion will take place in your number groups

Procedure

    1. Reintroduce yourselves, and make sure everyone knows each other's name.

    2. Within your group, compare your shirt color. Divide into roles. Each person should pick a role they had not previously filled:

        1. recorder The recorder will take notes on the group's discussion. If anything needs to be turned in, the recorder will take care of it.

        2. time-keeper The time-keeper makes sure the group stays focused on the activity and completes the steps on time.

        3. presenter The presenter will speak for the group during the whole class discussion.

        4. leader The leader makes sure every voice is heard, and helps encourage the group to stay on-task

    3. The recorder should write down each person's full name, making sure it is spelled correctly, on the top of a piece of notebook paper.

    4. Together, discuss the following questions based on the radio report you listed to for today (the recorder should take notes):

        1. Did anything about the report surprise you?

        2. What are the effects of segregation on people's daily lives (that is, what aspects of your life are tied to where you live)?

        3. How does segregation perpetuate racial differences in this country?

        4. What factors other than personal bias lead to segregation?

        5. The Ghetto is Public Policy is the title of an article by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor at The Atlantic. What do you think that title means, given what you learned about the relationship between segregation and the federal government?

    1. The presenter will be responsible for presenting the group's ideas during the full-class discussion.

Take-Home Messages:

    • The US racial system is critical for understanding the social, economic, and political structure of this country

    • Systemic racism continues to significantly impact people's opportunities and outcomes in life

    • Systemic inequalities don't have to be explicit or clearly race-based in order to have profound impacts that primarily advantage or disadvantage one racial group at the expense of (or to the benefit of) another.

Reflection:

What does the information you learned about for today tell us about the difference between systemic racism and personal bias?