Is America Racist?
February 2024
By Kim Harris, M.Ed.
Distinctive Voice Consulting
www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com
Happy Black History month!
As an American Black woman, I sit here and ponder my heritage and how far
African-Americans have come since the forced immigration of my ancestors to the
United States in 1619. And in the presidential election year, I cringe at the
responses of two Republican primary candidates when they are asked whether or
not America is a racist country. I watch candidate Nikki Haley get a “deer in
the headlights look” when asked about racism in the United States, and I watch former
candidate Ron DeSantis’ face turn red when he is asked the same question. Then
my own questions come to mind, why are they being asked this question in 2024?
Isn’t the answer obvious? What is obvious is that Americans have a difficult
time talking about race. Why is that?
I think the long and the
short of it is America’s love affair with the concept of meritocracy: a system
of rewards being given to those who work hard. And for the most part, this is a
true fact about this great country. Most people have the opportunity to excel
in this country with hard work. But what of those who don’t excel with hard
work? How do we explain the fact that some hard-working folks don’t get ahead?
Is it bad luck? Poor decision making? Or is there something else at play here?
When we talk about racism,
we need to differentiate between individual racism, the belief of superiority
of one race over others acted on between racial groups and individuals, and
systemic racism, a structure of laws, policies and practices across society
that benefit the dominant culture over other races. So, the question, is
America racist, needs to be framed in a way where we look at laws, policies,
and practices in this country instead of individual racism. We need to evaluate
this question from a systemic frame. This is where we Americans get stuck. This
is where some American politicians get derailed. I believe they are answering
the question of America being racist based on the definition of individual
racism, not systemic racism.
And there is much data to
back up on-going systemic racism in America. For evidence, I offer the U.C.
Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute’s Racial Disparities Dashboard
which aims to provide empirical data on racial disparity outcomes in the United
States in 15 areas from 1970 to 2020 from an African-American and European
American dichotomy. This data allows us to see where we as Americans are making
progress and where more work needs to be done in the areas of: bachelor’s
degree attainment, high school graduation attainment, health insurance
coverage, childhood poverty rates, home ownership rates, incarceration rates,
infant mortality rates, life expectancy, maternal mortality rates, median home
value, median household income, median racial wealth gap, poverty rates,
unemployment rates and voting rates. You can access this report here.
Among the 15 benchmark areas
of success measured comparing African Americans to White Americans within the
50-year time frame, there has been improvement in seven areas (high school
graduation rates, childhood poverty, access to health insurance, infant
mortality rate, life expectancy, poverty rates and voting rates). The area of
highest improvement in closing the disparity gap is the African-American high
school graduation rate (7.1% difference between Black and White Americans in
1970 versus 1.9% in 2020).
Sadly, eight of the areas
measured continued to show disparity rates between African Americans and White
Americans (bachelor degree attainment, home ownership, incarceration rates,
maternal mortality rates, median home value, median household income, median
racial wealth gap, and the unemployment rate). The greatest disparity of the
eight areas measured was the median racial wealth gap between White Americans
and Black Americans with a 29% disparity increase. There is no area measured
where African Americans have a higher disparity rate over their White American
counterparts in this report.
The markers from this
report are the benchmarks of American success and wellness, and while there are
improvements, we need to aim for parity across these benchmarks. There are many
resources to unpack these disparities, how they came into existence and why
they persist. If you choose to do more reading I would check out: The New
Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram
X. Kendi, and The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein.
So, the next time you hear
the question, “Is America a racist country?” it is my hope that the sting of
shame and denial do not override your brain and put you in a state of denial of
the facts. In my view, healing and unity can only be achieved with acceptance
of the truth and creating truly equitable laws, policies and practices that
benefit everyone. Until we can all agree on the truth based on evidence, I
predict that our country will continue to wrestle with the question of racism,
arresting our ability to come together as one. Only through honest
conversations, and true reconciliation can America move forward in a positive
direction and heal the wounds caused by systemic racism.
To learn more about
Distinctive Voice Consulting’s equity and inclusion training and consulting, or
to discuss having honest conversations at your organization visit: www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com
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