What is systemic racism?

Systemic racism is the institutional uneven distribution of resources and opportunities for one race at the expense and exclusion of other races. Today there is still substantial evidence of systemic racism across almost every level of society, from housing to education to employment to policing, which all intertwine to contribute to the wealth gap between Black and white Americans that has increased since the Civil Rights Movement.

If racism truly ceased to exist after the Civil Rights Movement, one would expect the wealth gap between Black and white Americans to decrease, as a decreasing wealth gap (unequal distribution of assets) implies upward movement between social and economic classes (socio-economic mobility) and progress towards racial equity. However, since the end of the Civil Rights Movement, the wealth gap between Black and white Americans has only increased. For instance, the average wealth of white families was $170,000 greater than that of Black families in 1963, but in 2016 the average wealth of white families was $700,000 greater. As reported by the Federal Reserve in 2016, the average wealth of Black families were approximately only 15 percent of the average wealth of white families. The wealth gap between races in the US is a product of the various structures that have continued to oppress people of color, especially Black Americans.

Though the Civil Rights Movement seemed to outlaw legal discrimination, the remnants of a racist laws left rippling effects across generations to continue the cycle of racism. In the 1930s, banks denied mortgages (loans to help people buy homes) to minorities living in redlined neighborhoods, neighborhoods lenders would line with red on maps to mark areas they didn’t want to give loans. These redlined neighborhoods were deemed high risk based upon racial demographics, even though the redlined neighborhoods’ Black and Latinx (people of Latin American descent) populations were economically eligible for loans.

As a result, it was virtually impossible for homeowners in redlined neighborhoods to increase their property value or obtain the money needed to move to other neighborhoods deemed “less risk” due to their mostly white population. Therefore, many Black people and Latinx could not increase their wealth, as it is commonly known that most people hold their wealth in their property. Even today, many Black American families continue to feel the effects of redlining, as homeowners of redlined neighborhoods earned 52% less wealth from their homes (approximately $212,000) over the course of 40 years because of the value of their property. Furthermore, Black homeowners today are 4.7 times more likely to own a home in former redlined neighborhoods than in green lined neighborhoods, neighborhoods of mostly white population outlined in green by bank lenders to indicate areas of “least risk.” As of July 2020, the Census Bureau reported that Black Americans had the lowest homeownership rate at 47% which was 29% lower than white Americans. Hence, with limited credit and homeownership, it is not hard to understand the persistence of the wealth gap between Black and white Americans.

The housing disparity between races in the US however is only one example of systemic racism. For instance, people of color today, especially Black Americans, are more likely to live in high-poverty neighborhoods, which affects the quality of education. On average in 2018, districts with the highest poverty rate received $1,000 less per student than districts with the lowest poverty rates. Furthermore, the same study found that school districts serving mostly students of color received around $1800 less per student. As a result, students of color on average are already academically behind before even beginning their education.

These statistics only illustrate a few of the many systems working against Black Americans in their goal to achieve racial equality. Still it is clear through these statistics alone that the culmination of education and housing disparities all continue the cyclical oppression of Black Americans.