RACIAL EQUITY AND
ECONOMIC SECURITY
Response to
STRUCTURAL RACISM
Lois J. Carson
Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change
Don Mathis
RACIAL EQUITY AND
ECONOMIC SECURITY
funded by the Ford Foundation
Participating Agencies
New York
Wisconsin
Georgia
Action for a Better Community
Rochester, NY
Social Development Commission
Milwaukee, WI
Fulton Atlanta Community
Action Authority
Atlanta, GA
Mississippi
New Mexico
Bolivar County Community
Action Program
Cleveland, MS
Community Action New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM (statewide project)
Florida
Northeast Florida Community
Action Agency
Jacksonville, FL
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Kentucky
Community Action Council for
Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon,
Harrison and Nicholas Counties
Lexington, KY
California
Community Action
Partnership
of Riverside County
Riverside, CA
STRUCTURAL
RACISM
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Disparate Outcomes
Poverty
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
All Races
White
Asian/Pacific
Islander
Black
Hispanic
Native
American
Poverty Level for family of 4: $18,100 (US Dept of HHS, 2002)
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Disparate outcomes
Educational Attainment
100%
90%
80%
70%
Black
Latino
40%
30%
20%
10%
Asian
White
Black
0%
Graduate From High School
Native American
Asian
Latino
50%
Native American
White
60%
Earn Bachelor's Degree
Source: The Education Trust, 2002
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Disparate Outcomes
Justice System
Adult Population and Proportion Incarcerated
in State and Federal Prisons, 2002
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Population
40%
Prison
30%
20%
10%
0%
Black
Hispanic
White
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin. “Prisoners in 2002” U.S. Department of Justice, July 2003; U.S. Census Bureau.
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Why are “race” and “racism” such
difficult issues to grasp and deal with?
We are still
struggling over the
meanings of race
and equality
We often fail to acknowledge
the ways that RACE has been a
fundamental axis of social
organization in the US
We are often
reluctant to
acknowledge
the legacies of race
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What is race and how do we
understand it?
•
•
•
Social construct
No biological or scientific basis behind it
Best understood in social and political terms
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Leaders who work on
racial equity need…
• A language to talk about race
• A framework for understanding how race
and ethnicity operate in modern America
(post-civil rights legislation)
• New ideas and strategies for reducing
racial inequities in key opportunity
domains and promoting racial equity
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New Language
We need to identify and talk about:
• The ongoing advantages associated
with being" white” – sometimes
referred to as a white privilege
and
• The ongoing disadvantages associated
with being a person of “color”—which
we refer to as structural racism
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How is Structural Racism Different?
Common explanations of entrenched
racial and/or ethnic disparity
Structural
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Institutional
Individual
Racism at the individual or
inter-group level:
• Personal prejudice
• Racial slurs, the n-word
• Inter-group tensions
• Diversity and multi-culturalism
• Cultural competence
…these are important, and these personal attitudes
and beliefs color decision-making and actions
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The bigger problem …
Racism at the
institutional and structural
levels
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Institutional Racism
Education
Employment
Health
Criminal
Justice
Housing
Environment
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Institutional Racism
For example:
• Discriminatory practices
(whether intentional or not)
• Racial profiling
• Redlining or “steering”
• Occupational segregation
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Institutional Racism: A Systems Perspective
Education
Employment
Health
Criminal
Justice
Housing
Environment
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What is Structural
Racism?
It describes the complex ways
that history, public policies, institutional
practices and cultural representations (e.g.,
stereotypes, norms) interact to maintain
racial hierarchy and inequitable racial group
outcomes; thereby allowing privileges
associated with “whiteness” and
disadvantages associated with “color”
to endure and adapt.
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Structural Racism
Education
Employment
Health
Criminal
Justice
Housing
Environment
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Internalized White Privilege
“…an invisible package of unearned assets
which I can count on cashing in each day,
but about which I was meant to remain
oblivious….”
•
Peggy Macintosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the
Invisible Knapsack.”
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Contents of the Knapsack:
• I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my
race most of the time.
• If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or
purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I
would want to live, and I can be pretty sure that my neighbors
will be neutral or pleasant to me.
• I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured
that I will not be followed or harassed.
• I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the
paper and see people of my race widely represented.
• If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I
can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
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Contents of the Knapsack:
•
I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism
for their own daily physical protection.
•
I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
•
I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or selfseeking.
•
I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my
co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
•
If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative
episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
•
I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life,
institutional and social.
•
If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the
problem.
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What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
It means four types of changes in the way we work:
• Internal change
• Policy change
• Practice change
• Cultural/representational change
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What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Internal” change,
accepting and establishing racial equity as a central tenet
and operating principle in our work to improve outcomes for
youth and in our internal work environment…for example
Focus not just on improving outcomes for all but also on
reducing racial gaps
Focus not just on diversity in the workplace, but also on
racial equity in opportunities for advancement and leadership
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What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Policy” change,
working on the fundamental rules of the game within your
organization and your field, and not shrinking from
challenging traditional power bases and networks
For example: focus on the fundamental distribution of
resources in terms of money, infrastructure, opportunities
within your organization and outside your organization by
examining its programs and alliances
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What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Practice” change,
focusing carefully on all of the ways in which standard
practices reproduce – or fail to counteract – racially disparate
outcomes
For example by critically examining informal practices within
your organization and their impact on racial and ethnic
minorities (e.g., mentoring, access to positions which lead to
leadership opportunities, visibility etc.)
Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change
What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Cultural” or “representational” change,
reframing and changing stereotypical messages, images and
interpretations of information about people of color
For example, by challenging the assumptions that
employees, board members, policymakers, and the citizens
of our communities, and other key actors bring to
discussions about people of color because these
assumptions “frame” how problems are perceived and how
solutions are developed
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END
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Riverside County
REES
Project
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SUB-COMMITTEES
POLICY ADVISORY
TECHNICAL ADVISORY
to establish the
rules of engagement
for the
“Big View” Meetings
and
Community Dialogues
to eliminate
Racial Disparity
in the provision
and access to
Quality Child Care
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BIG VIEW MEETINGS
Human Rights Commission
City of Palm Springs
May 15
Human Relations Council Human Relations Commission
of
City of Riverside
Hemet- San Jacinto-Menifee
TBA
TBA
To be followed with dialogues at Colleges/Universities, In Churches and other Venues
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
LET US TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT
LET US KEEP AN OPEN MIND
LET US SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS
LET US NOT INTERRUPT OTHERS
LET US STRIVE FOR HONESTY
LET US REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ATTACKS
LET US SHARE PERSONAL STORIES FOR ENLIGHTENMENT
LET US SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO DISCUSS RACE
INTELLECTUALLY
9. LET US RECRUIT GROUPS TO HOST A BIG VIEW MEETING
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Question for Round Table Discussion
STRUCTURAL RACISM
Racial Equity and Economic Security
Describe Structural Racism in their own words and
would help to make them more confident about
sharing their knowledge.
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