Introduction
The United States bears a long and intricate history of discriminating against marginalized groups, particularly racial minorities. Deep-rooted practices like slavery, segregation, economic and educational exclusion, and violence have given rise to enduring systemic and institutional racism, casting a persistent shadow over marginalized communities. Although there has been a lot of legal and social progress made, the recent data points out the fact that the Black community continues to have distorted outcomes and barriers in critical socioeconomic issues like health disparities, income and wealth gaps, housing discrimination, and access to quality education. This study presents multiple sources that go back to the past decade and explain how systemic racism has negatively affected the socioeconomic standing of minorities and the most disadvantaged people, especially the Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC). Although some may argue that progress has been made or supremacy has been abolished, the majority tend to conclude with weighty evidence that racism recurs in institutions, structures, policies, and societal systems that spawn advocacy of marginalization among minority people. The evidence provided is overwhelming and demands a clear acceptance of these systemic problems among the people. As a result, we should work towards anti-racist measures that will be meant to promote a more equitable society. Through dealing with the fundamental issues of systemic racism, the community can create a foundation for a desired future that is equal and reflects fairness to all the people in the community. Such a change will enable overcoming the past generation’s barriers and creating a new world that will allow people from different cultural backgrounds to prosper.
Background
Systemic racism, a pervasive issue, encapsulates racial bias intentionally or unintentionally woven into the fabric of institutional policies, practices, and procedures. Its impact systematically disadvantages marginalized racial groups while perpetuating unfair advantages for members of the dominant group (Castle et al.27-36). The protracted, 15-year-long Elouise Cobell legal battle with the government, like the one described by Janko (2013), illustrates the tough obstacle of signifying justice. These two categories of racism, institutional racism (such as housing, employment, politics, and representation) and structural racism (wherein a bigger social system that is hierarchical already has inequality inbuilt), implicate inequalities.
Shockingly, 88% percent of those cumulative effects on racial segregation in the United States are felt by the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) collectives. Since the first government actions against them, these people still bear some policies and procedures of discrimination adopted by federal, state, and local governments, as well as public and private enterprises (Barlow 895–908). These social injustices have long been the major obstacles to economic equity in that they prevent the overall progress of impoverished communities. For example, after WWII, the GI Bill did not thereby give Black veterans privileges like home loans and college education benefits; hence, they could not overcome the midst of impoverishment. Racially discriminatory housing covenants were another factor that brought about further segregation in society, with not only particular groups being blocked from residing in areas but also others becoming too afraid to live in such regions.
Modern policies, including those related to mass incarceration, are still tending to the disparity affecting Black men. It is creating systematic inequalities which will go on for ages. It is this type of research that finds out that ethnic bias does exist. Resumes that seem to have a name that sounds “white” are more likely to be called back when compared with an equivalent resume that has a narrative that either relates to an African ethnic or racial group (Volpe et al. 311–18). This way, the mentioned examples bring out the sneaky nature of systemic racism, demonstrating how the old injustices stubbornly interfere with the currently escalating inequalities in terms of socioeconomic status. Since the root problem of systemic racism lies deep within society, just recognizing historical injustices is not enough, and we also need to introduce systemic changes designed to allow for the rise of true racial equality and the dismantling of the structures that keep racism running.
Counterargument
Certain perspectives assert that the United States has made substantial strides against racism, citing landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act, increased diversity, the election of a Black president, affirmative action policies promoting minority representation, and a notable rise in Black politicians and CEOs. According to this school of thought, the successes of such initiatives as the Civil Rights Movement demonstrate the positive movement toward a post-racial state (Desikan et al. 1). It is argued that if the existing gap is not eliminated, people will come up with reasons like the person-or-culture factor instead of the real issue of systemic nature. The diverse perception of systemic racism is a foundational source of division, and hence, it adversely affects the nation’s economic development.
Also, this perspective is emphasized by comparing the anonymous and individual racism now with the past with surveys that show the drop of support to ‘there still discrimination in opportunities for black Americans and peoples who identify as black.’ Critics, on the other hand, applaud those examples of minority success as evidence that there are also options for those hardworking Americans regardless of their race. However, rather, it is the choice they make (Reece 110-33). This aspect of the opinion points to individual responsibility as the key factor because what matters most in the overall course of events is positive choices made and obvious cases of racism being in decline.
Rebuttal
Social Indicators Show Racial Disparities
Despite claims of progress, extensive data on marginalization and discrimination undeniably reveal pervasive racial inequality across various facets of U.S. society, spanning income, wealth, education, employment, healthcare, mental health, environmental exposure, and the criminal justice system. It is about the median net worth for white households that has shown until now a big gap, which is ten times higher than that of black households, the latter being an indication of black Americans’ persistent economic disparities. However, despite these influences, the wage and unemployment disparities remain considerable among white and Hispanic/African-European individuals (Owens-Young 389-98). A division of schools, both by race and class, remains highly segregated. Many do not have access to quality education. Thus, inequality is maintained.
Indigenous and Black population groups encounter high rates of chronic diseases, maternal complications, and death at younger than normal ages, with the excess death rate of Black individuals being 33% above annual trends. What is more to this situation is that COVID-19 has broken aside some other disparities as well and on those three and four times higher rates in Black, Indigenous, and Latino groups who were infected and hospitalized. The justice system in criminal matters also provides for glaring racial divisions and confirms it through the surprising fact that a Black man is 1000 times more likely to be killed by a policeman than the rest of the epoch he lives in. This profound data depicts the deeply entrenched emergencies driven by a race-based system, and it demonstrates how the so-called ‘post-racial’ narrative is a fallacy. Here, we have the proof of the urgent necessity for systemic changes in the current order to accomplish real racial equality.
Laws and Overt Racism Unable to Undo Generational Impacts
The removal of explicitly racist laws, while a significant step forward, has proven insufficient to address the deep-seated impact of over 200 cumulative years of systemic racism that hindered wealth-building for non-white groups across generations. Though with the sanctity of the disintegration of laws like redlining, segregation bans on land ownership as well as barriers that prevented averagely racial groups from accessing programs such as FHA mortgages and GI Bill – which for a long time facilitated the living lifestyle of a middle class among the majority of white Americans (Noguera 51-56). it is viewed on principle and requires more than the elimination of discriminatory laws. As the refreshing course of events, systemic racism was eliminated by changing policies that were empowered to correct the historical inequities. Chicago can be depicted as a case study due to the fact that it is a highly segregated City in the U.S., as reported by Greenlining Institute, and decades upon decades of articulating policies focused on keeping Black residents in deficient neighborhoods inhabiting avenues that provided no economic opportunity (Fredrick 1-25). Sliding the outdated, discriminatory acts is not the same as the untying of several ties of capital disinvestment that portends several buckets of poverty extension generation over generation. The history of such policies continues to be felt, contributing to the current structure that oppresses wealth distribution and leads to uneven economic situations.
The same kind of problems remain for other minority groups, as none of them are truly fair if they are bypassed by economic exclusion for ages. Ending the long-term exploitation and discrimination was not going to be easy. That is because there are many other internal, in terms of historical, and external reasons for the limited accumulation of wealth and success among African Americans. Thus, insufficiency of just a lack of discriminatory laws is not enough to achieve equality, as the child of discrimination continues to suffer from the effects of the past. In today’s reality of unmitigated competition, which prevents anyone from a minority group from level playing fields and robs them of their opportunities, opportunities for people with backgrounds different from mainstream are slim (Kohli et al. 182-202). It is high time for the country to take proactive policy actions in order to reform the structures that are deeply symptomatic of inequity, and this must become the basis of the country’s ultimate goal of equity. Just ending overtly at the legislative level was the first progress. However, it was not enough. We must keep up the efforts to ensure that all races can gain equal chances to access resources and opportunities.
Structural and Institutional Racism Still Present
In contemporary society, discrimination manifests more insidiously, taking on systemic forms rather than overt individual acts. An illustrative example lies in blind auditions for orchestras, which significantly increased the hiring of women when identity was concealed, revealing biases in hiring practices. Overall, even in subjective areas where they should have no influence, like employment, white-sounding names on resumes are still more often ranked high than name-sounding ones, indicating that systematic effects do actually exist. Though workplaces no longer visibly display “whites only” standings, a deep hidden bias system exists via the selective application of policies relating to hiring, promotions, and company culture. These hurdles usually widen the gap between the positions of racial employees and place under-representation and unequal growth within organizations (Cueva 142-68). The story is the same. Even though the schools are bound by law to accept pupils of any race, funding models, choice of curriculum, and allocation of resources all run along racial lines, which in turn creates a disparity in education.
Environmentalism manifests itself in racist system systems as more often than the polluted industries and landfill sites are situated near the racial communities that are underprivileged. It is well illustrated chronic disease burdens, which are a true indicator of how deeply structural deficiencies affect the masses. In addition, data clearly portrays two cases of black and white people who are getting drug offenders such that white drug users are quickly referred to rehabilitation centers. At the same time, those with dark skin are taken into custody nearly everywhere. Thus, this illustrates the crucial role of racial discrimination in the trying of cases where there are discretions in the laws. As a result, unequal outcomes across races tend to occur more frequently. Structural disparities do not only occur in places where BIPOC groups seek healthcare, pursue education, seek employment, home ownership, and technology, but rather systemic barriers and opportunities are present in every one of these institutionalized avenues.
Nevertheless, there are still systemic prejudices in place, which dominate individual experiences and opportunities by race. They are ingrained in the legal framework that is obsolete or even unjust. Identification and eradication of such systemic biases involves massive dissolution of policies that are discriminatory as well as the creation of a fair system where all shall have the same equal chances of pursuing their hopes and having all the resources needed without discrimination on the basis of race.
Conclusion
In essence, though no longer overt, insidious systemic racism persists in American society, perpetuating concentrated socioeconomic disadvantages, particularly impacting Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Moreover, it is this persistent and systemic discrimination nowhere, as a matter of fact, that leads to various forms of disparities like income, wealth, health, education, toxic exposures, the rate of incarceration, and many other indicators of quality of life, which definitely limit the communities’ access to the equal share of opportunities. The amount of evidence displayed in support of the issue is always far more than that of the rebuttals and counterarguments since, most of the time, these counterarguments lack the substance and data points to back up the information.
The underlying safeguard of ridding of age-old discrimination will come from a direct and dynamic way of addressing existing structural hurdles. These types of policy measures seem to be a must since they will likely balance out resources and access both. Interventions such as affordable housing schemes, entrepreneurship by financial support for minority businesses, the creation of universal healthcare, police reform by providing funding to social services, and the development of compensation programs to repair the injustices of the past should be considered crucial measures. They are ending the racial disparities in the United States requires an in-depth examination of the pervasive systemic changes that deny some people privileges to be followed by the development of purposeful strategies that will help every other American, irrespective of their race or ethnicity, to lead a prosperous life. It is not just the identification of the problem area but the development of meaningful approaches that address historical injustices and create a just and genuinely fair new future for everyone.
Reference
Barlow, Jameta Nicole. “Restoring Optimal Black Mental Health and Reversing Intergenerational Trauma in an Era of Black Lives Matter.” Biography, vol. 41, no. 4, 2018, pp. 895–908. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26606355.
Castle, Billie, et al. “Public Health’s Approach to Systemic Racism: A Systematic Literature Review.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019, pp. 27–36. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48706938.
Cueva, Bert María. “INSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC VIOLENCE: Racial and Gendered Microaggressions in Higher Education.” Chicana/Latina Studies, vol. 13, no. 2, 2014, pp. 142–68. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43941436. Accessed 22 Feb. 2024.
Desikan, Anita, et al. Supporting Equity and Environmental Justice. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2020. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep26330. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
Fredrick, Earl. “Death, Violence, Health, and Poverty in Chicago.” Harvard Public Health Review, vol. 19, 2018, pp. 1–25. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48515216.Accessed
Janko, Melinda. “Elouise Cobell: A Small Measure of Justice.” American India Magazine, vol. 14, no. 2, 2013, pp. 1–5. Pdf.
Kohli, Rita, et al. “The ‘New Racism’ of K-12 Schools: Centering Critical Research on Racism.” Review of Research in Education, vol. 41, 2017, pp. 182–202. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44668692.
Noguera, Pedro A., and Julio Angel Alicea. “Structural Racism and the Urban Geography of Education.” The Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 102, no. 3, 2020, pp. 51–56. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26977192. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.\
Owens-Young, Jessica, and Caryn N. Bell. “Structural Racial Inequities in Socioeconomic Status, Urban-Rural Classification, and Infant Mortality in U.S. Counties.” Ethnicity & Disease, vol. 30, no. 3, 2020, pp. 389–98. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48668049.
Reece, Jason. “Confronting the Legacy of ‘Separate but Equal’: Can the History of Race, Real Estate, and Discrimination Engage and Inform Contemporary Policy?” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, vol. 7, no. 1, 2021, pp. 110–33. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2021.7.1.07.
Volpe, Vanessa V., et al. “Anti-Black Structural Racism Goes Online: A Conceptual Model for Racial Health Disparities Research.” Ethnicity & Disease, vol. 31, 2021, pp. 311–18. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48667972.
write