Institutional Racism, Explained.
Hi, friends! Back to it. Let’s review what we know so far:
- Race Forward created a useful model for understanding how racism operates in American culture. The model identifies four levels of racism.
- Two levels are individual in nature:
- Internalized racism is our private beliefs and prejudices, influenced by culture. It’s nearly impossible to live in modern America without internalizing some racism.
- Interpersonal racism is enacted between and among individuals. Because it’s defined by its effect on the victim and not by the intention of the perpetrator, it’s almost certain that we’re sometimes behaving in racist ways—even without meaning to. As we learn more, this will happen less; regardless, we need to accept being “called out” as an opportunity for learning, not defensiveness.
- Two levels of racism are systemic in nature; that is, they’re bigger and more pervasive than just individual action.
- Institutional racism is the first type, and even though it’s well documented, a lot of white people are reluctant to acknowledge its existence. Evangelical Christians, especially.
- Structural racism is the second type, and we'll get there...after better understanding the institutional variety.
So. What, Exactly, Is Institutional Racism?
Now that we’re willing to look at institutional racism head-on, let’s dig into its definition (again, from Race Forward).
INSTITUTIONAL RACISM occurs within institutions and systems of power.
It is the unfair policies and discriminatory practices of particular institutions (schools, workplaces, etc) that routinely produce racially inequitable outcomes for people of color and advantages for white people. Individuals within institutions take on the power of the institution when they reinforce racial inequities.
We're going to Break. This. Down., We'll start with the p-word (NOT THAT P-WORD, THANKS PRES TRUMP) and then the last sentence, before heading back up top.
Power
Authority, access, and agency. Authority, or the expectation that your opinions and directives carry real weight. Access to the good stuff (safety, health, education, wealth). Agency, or the general ability to carry out your plans, within reason.
Look at all the institutions operating on this unusually calamity-free morning in Richard Scarry's Busytown! BOOKS ARE FUN TO READ. READ ONE TODAY. Source
“Individuals within institutions take on the power of the institution when they reinforce racial inequities.”
This refers to what I think of as the “power of the uniform,” and it’s both tricky and crucial. All institutions delegate authority to their representatives or employees. It’s why, in old Western movies, people call the sheriff “The Law”: To the desperado shaking in his boots, the sheriff carries the full power of the law and its entire enforcement apparatus.
When a person is wearing the badge–uniform–scrubs–clerical collar, she’s no longer just an individual: she’s a stand-in for her institution. She’s wearing the institution; she’s the face of the institution. For all practical purposes, she is the institution. Which makes for an interesting equation:
A person’s racist behavior while in uniform = interpersonal racism and institutional racism. Simultaneously.
This becomes extremely important in, for instance, police brutality. A white cop shoots an elderly Latino man out for a walk, and we want to think, that officer is just one racist dude acting out. If he weren’t on duty, weren’t using a department-issued gun? Yes, merely (egregious, fatal) interpersonal racism. Acting with the power of the badge? Now it’s interpersonal and institutional racism. Spider-Man taught us that with great power comes great responsibility. An institution has power, shares it with its employees, and is responsible for what those employees do with that power. Their uniformed racism is its racism.
Whew! OK. Back to the rest of the definition.
I appreciate your patience with this dictionary-style post. Need a break? Reflect on this inscrutable spread from another Richard Scarry book! BUNNY + INNOCENT EYELASHES + SAW. Please, someone, help me understand.
Institutions and systems of power
This includes both official and unofficial organizations—anything with a hierarchy.
Examples: schools and school districts, churches, hospitals, courts of law, families, sports teams.
Policies
An organization's official principles, guidelines, and regulations.
Example: A school seeking to accelerate learning (principle) uses students' previous achievement levels to assign them to classes (regulation).
Upshot: A kindergartner who arrives without much literacy experience is placed in a low-achieving class. No matter how well she meets her teacher's expectations that year, she can't catch up to those in the higher-achieving classes and is thus stuck in a low-achieving "track" for years to come.
Practices
An institution's ways of doing business, or an individual representative's ways of doing business, when they're "wearing the uniform." These might not be codified as official policy.
Example: Emergency room staff provides more thorough care for patients with health insurance than for uninsured patients. This isn’t on the books anywhere; it’s just…how it goes.
Inequitable outcomes
This is a good reminder that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and it’s outcomes, or results, that matter. Even the best-intentioned organization can still see unequal, race-dependent results in its work.
One example: In the ER mentioned above, even when controlling for the obvious host of other factors, uninsured patients routinely leave the ER with worse health outcomes than their insured counterparts.
Today's ActionS
Now, with those definitions in mind, read back through the original definition. In case you're interested, for me this raises three responses:
- Holy smokes, I'm a part of a lot of organizations. If I concede that most Americans have internalized some racism, I have to assume that all of my organizations are shot through with at least some racism, operating both officially and unofficially in both policy and the behavior of individual representatives.
- That's overwhelming.
- OK, but this all makes sense in theory. Where's the data to prove it?
Stay tuned for the numbers.
NB: It’s highly worth noting that many conservative thinkers and writers find institutional racism a myth, a lie perpetrated by a hysterical Left. This recent piece in the National Review is a good example. (FWIW, we’ll hit the “black-on-black crime” issue relatively soon.)