Exploring 10 Examples of Systemic Racism That Exist In USA

The idea of systemic racism is at the center of a political controversy in the US. Racism, according to one side, is confined to isolated cases and people, while the other contends that racism is ingrained in all aspects of the nation’s institutions. Who is correct? Examining several facets of society such as work, housing, healthcare, education, criminal justice, and immigration policies might reveal evidence of systemic racism. 

While a single statistic may appear to have several explanations, when considered together, the data presents a compelling picture: racial differences impact individuals’ access to healthcare, education, income, housing, and food. Let us explore the 10 examples of systematic racism that exist in the USA.

1. Education

Having access to education sets the stage for a person’s life in numerous ways. One’s career options and earning potential are constrained in the absence of a solid education. Every aspect of their lives as well as the lives of their children are impacted by this. Disparities in race outcomes can also arise from school punishment. 

Black K–12 students are nearly four times more likely than White students to get one or more out-of-school suspensions, according to data from the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education for the 2013–2014 school year. Particularly black females experience prejudice. Compared to white females, they had a 5.5-fold higher chance of being suspended, and Native American girls had a 3.3-fold higher chance.

2. Employment and wealth

The impact of systemic racism on the workforce has a long history. The hiring procedure is the first step. Black Americans who have names that seem “white” are 50% more likely to get their job applications called back. A college degree may not always translate into better opportunities. According to a survey conducted between 2010 and 2012, 10% of Black college graduates with engineering degrees were jobless, compared to just 6% of all engineering graduates. 

Do these figures still make a degree worthwhile? According to studies, Black college-educated families do not benefit from the same lifetime wages and economic successes as do White college-educated households. 

3. Homeownership

Housing-related systemic racism has a long history. Redlining was made official by the National Housing Act of 1934, therefore preventing persons of color from becoming homeowners. Segregated urban housing developments were the home for Black Americans and other people of color, rather than the newly developed suburbs. The administration lacked nuance. 

The Federal Housing Administration reasoned that if Black Americans purchased suburban homes, their property values would decrease and white Americans’ loans would be at risk. There was no indication of this, and when Black Americans moved in, property prices increased because they were ready to pay more for housing than White Americans, as Richard Rothstein argues. Racism was the foundation for the FHA’s rationale.

4. Food insecurity

The absence of sufficient food availability is referred to as food insecurity. This might be a dearth of grocery stores in the area or a dearth of establishments offering reasonably priced, high-quality food. “Food deserts” are terms commonly used to describe regions in the US where there is food insecurity. They reside in several impoverished urban districts. 

Although poverty was a significant factor, a scholar discovered in 2014 that Black and Hispanic areas had fewer major stores than their white counterparts. The relationship between food insecurity and race is supported by other studies. Feeding America discovered that although making up only 14% of the nation’s total population, Black people experience 19.7% of food insecurity. This information was based on statistics from 2021. 

5. Healthcare

For generations, the healthcare system has mistreated people of color, particularly African Americans. The phrase “medical racism” was used to describe how common it is. Under the guise of science and medicine, physicians and researchers in the 1800s propagated theories such as phrenology—the theory that a person’s skull form indicates their moral nature—and the notion that Black people were inherently obedient and should thus be kept as slaves. 

The US government concealed the syphilis from treatment to track its progression, despite having pledged in 1932 to treat Black males who had the disease. One of the most well-known instances of healthcare fraud is the Tuskegee study.

6. Policing and surveillance

Early on in the criminal justice system, police, and monitoring are key components of racial prejudice. Think about traffic halts. According to a 2020 research that used a dataset including 100 million traffic stops nationwide, Black drivers are 20% more likely than White drivers to be stopped concerning their residential population. 

Black drivers are 1.5–2 times more likely than white drivers to be searched after being stopped over, even though they are less likely to own weapons, narcotics, or other illicit items. Are we certain that race is a factor? The same study discovered that there is a 5–10% decrease in the number of Black drivers stopped when the sun sets and it becomes more difficult to determine a driver’s race.

7. The criminal justice system

A person’s race affects what happens to them when they enter the criminal justice system. Compared to their white counterparts, black kids have a more than 4-fold higher likelihood of being arrested or admitted to juvenile institutions. A 2017 study found that between 2012 and 2016, Black males received 19.1% longer sentences than White men for identical federal offenses. 

This took into consideration variables such as age, citizenship, education, and criminal background. What are systemic racism’s long-term effects? Black people comprise 38% of inmates in jails and prisons but makeup just 13% of the US population overall. Black inmates make up more than 50% of the prison population in certain states, including North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, and Louisiana.

8. Environmental racism

When it comes to the locations of chemical factories, landfills, hazardous waste disposal sites, and other ecologically dangerous buildings, environmental racism is a type of systemic racism. These environmental risks are disproportionately located close to populations of race in the United States. Research has demonstrated for years that, against popular belief, race—rather than poverty—is the primary risk factor for exposure to high levels of pollution. A 2020 Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health journal article detailed data indicating that even middle-class Black Americans experience greater levels of pollution than White individuals earning only $10,000 annually.

9. Digital inequity

“The disparity in access, knowledge, and ability to use digital tools and technology, particularly harming lower-income individuals and minority communities” is the definition of digital inequality given by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. People in today’s digital age depend on resources like the Internet to apply for jobs, scholarships, colleges, and other employment prospects. 

Technology is also becoming more and more necessary for learning new skills, finishing assignments, launching enterprises, and many other things. Race has a role in who is granted access. Approximately 31% of Black Americans live without a computer at home, and 38% do not have a high-speed internet connection at their residence. Why? Cost is one of the causes. Compared to other Western countries, US prices are higher.

10. Immigration policy

Congress established a quota system to restrict immigration as the 20th century got underway with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924. The law used census data from 1890, when the majority of immigrants were white Protestants from Western and Northern Europe, to keep “undesirable” immigrants out, such as immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia. Such policies helped fuel racist and anti-immigrant attitudes and changed the demographics of the United States. Studies reveal that while Mexican immigrants are still often targeted, Arab and Asian immigrants also face greater rates of racial discrimination than white immigrants. This affects a variety of things, including equal employment, civic engagement, healthcare, housing, and education access.