By Rebecca Martin Social Justice, Faith 15 March 2013

Institutional Racism: racism that is structured into political and social institutions
The makers of these structures may

Individual Racism: a specific racist act between individuals

Verbal abuse Blatant attacks

not be racist, the structure of the system itself results in racial discrimination Ex: Health care laws may not apply to workers in certain fields or people in certain areas that are generally occupied by minorities

Blatant racism and discrimination has declined, but the greatest social and economic inequalities have risen from institutional structures that have given benefits and advantages to one race at the expense of others. Throughout American history to the present, minorities have been denied equal access to home ownership, good schools, resources, and opportunities

Several programs aim to remedy this, but encounter a wall:

Ethnic groups/ neighborhoods often are segregated from white neighborhoods because job, economic, resource, language, and discrimination barriers: not because of choice

the majority American policy was built on racism

Median Net Worth of Households

50-80% of one's lifetime wealth depends on opportunities created by past generations The policies and laws of the past favored whites, and many current policies and laws still do, making generating wealth easier for white Americans and harder for minority Americans (Go Deeper)

Credit: Pew Research Center

Most white Americans, as the majority, are considered the norm: race-less. Many think individual racism is the problem and do not recognize institutional racism.
White Americans are greatly favored throughout their lives.

Many do not realize this or think of themselves in terms of race.

Most minority Americans realize that institutional racism is their greatest threat
Most minority Americans are constantly reminded of their

non-white status in subtle ways: feeling underrepresented, misrepresented, or tolerating an innocent comment loaded with racial assumptions

To be white is to be unquestioned, accepted, and unburdened by a racial identity. Against the default category of whiteness, people of color struggle with the weight of their difference.

Go Deeper: Me, My Race & I. PBS. California Newsreel, 2003. Web. 15 March 2013. "Preface to 'Is Racism Institutionalized in Society and Culture?'." Racism. Ed. Mary E. Williams. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. Where Race Lives. PBS. California Newsreel, 2003. Web. 15 March 2013.