Day 10 Theme: Institutional Racism

Institutional racism can reside in both the formal and informal workings of organizations and institutions. It exists in formal policies, for example, and in unwritten and unspoken norms of behavior.

Here we invite you to shine a light on your workplace, school, place of worship, or organization. Consider where the organization falls on the continuum (linked below) on becoming an anti-racist multicultural organization.

As you do your assessment, perhaps with others, pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. What comes up for you? Consider sharing your observations with others. What are their reactions and observations?

Looking at institutions on a broader level, we invite you to read the article (linked below) about school district residency requirements in Grosse Pointe MI. The article provides an example of how policies that appear race-neutral on the surface can have the impact of racial exclusivity in practice.

Reflect & Respond:

What might be done to nudge your organization/community to be more fully anti-racist, equitable and liberatory? What other examples of policy, either in government or the private sector, have you seen that function in a seemingly race neutral way but have impact of racial exclusivity in practice? How are such instances of institutional racism connected to racism at the lower levels (interpersonal and internalized)?