What lies deeper—Systemic Racism and its subtle nature

    Systemic racism (or Institutional racism) is a worldwide problem which is regarded as one of the most controversial and hardest topics to talk about. Sure, there are laws, legislations, and steps that progressive groups have taken that ease up this issue but let us ask ourselves, is it really enough? The discrimination among people of colors is still there despite numerous callouts.

However, before we delve in deeper, let’s first define what is systemic racism and how is it affecting America.

What is Systemic Racism?

Systemic racism is any form of racism or discrimination that is manifested in laws, regulations, employment, political representation, or in any field that laws are considered. While on the outside it seems less severe than individual racism, its subtle or low-key nature makes it worse. Considering that this is produced by higher-ups (including government and corporate owners), this problem receives less backlash than individual racism (Wikipedia, n.d.).

Employment

Today, while considerably less severe than the past century, it’s still there. Systemic racism today is rampant on some services which hinder black people or any other people of color avail them fully. Data shows that these people have a considerably higher unemployment rate than the majority people (whites). In 2021, the unemployment rate of black males is 9.4% with a 59.9% employment in the population. In white males, the unemployment rate is about 5.5% with an employment in the population of 66.0%.

In another data in 2014 consisting of black men aged 25-54, there are about 35% black males are not working currently versus 17% of white males. 17% of the black males are out of labor force while 11% are whites. For the past year, there are about 27% of blacks vs 12% of whites that have not been working. Looking at these data, it can be said that the unemployment rate or out of job rate is considerably higher in black males compared to white males.

Income

Sadly, aside from unemployment rate, there is also the issue of income. According to Wikipedia, even the pay or income isn’t fair to blacks and Hispanic people. A survey conducted in 2017 to 2019 shows the difference between pay depending on race. With a sample of 1.8 million people in America, on average, the black male earns about only 87% as much as the white male. In simple math, that is about 87 cents for every 1 dollar an average white male earns. 

In a similar data survey, under the same skills and expertise, there is about 2% less on average black male worker compared to an average white male worker.

In a demographic presented by Zippia, blacks are found out to have the lowest average salary per year at about $62,283 while whites are almost $72,000.

Businesses

Another thing to look at is how much of businesses are owned by black people. In a census by Zippia team in September 2022, the percentage of ownership in black people are alarmingly low. The most common ethnicity of business ownership is White (70.8%) followed by Hispanic (14.4%), Asian (6.2%), and African- American (6.0%).

Now what is really alarming here is that from 2010, not much has changed on this percentage. The average percentage is around 6% and that is more than a decade.

The state which has the highest percentage of black-owned business is at Fayyetteville, NC with 11.2% of the businesses being black owned.

As of 2019, there are about 12.2% blacks but sadly, a huge percentage of businesses is owned by whites primarily.

Implications

As a result of these, black people find it more difficult to access financial services such as loans and credits from banks and institutions. Having a low income or an unstable job is deemed negative in financial institutions, making it harder for them to fund their capital for a business. Moreover, the lack of access to a stable job, high income, and a business opportunity allows the call for a more violent take—crime. Unfortunately, the media may sometimes twist the story. This now results in a negative take for these people.

Ultimately, such implications result in poverty.

What awaits America?

While racism back then isn’t as much worse as it is today, the harm brought about by the discrimination is still there. While the issue may be subtle, the fault lies deeper. This creates a systemic divide which acts like a time bomb for the country. The call for a more equal system needs to be stronger and heard. After all, you and I are the same species, sharing the same set of feelings. Equal opportunities must be given to those who equally deserve it. Treating a person any less because of their color or race is a backward thinking that these people are not the same species as the majority. In the system of laws and economy, pigment and race must and cannot be the determining key of what a person can be capable of.

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References:

[1] Wikipedia (n.d.). Institutional Racism. Wikipedia. Retrieved from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_racism

[2] Holzer, H. (n.d.). Why are employment rates so low among Black men? Middle class memos. Brookings. Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu/research/why-are-employment-rates-so-low-among-black- men/

[3] Miller, S. (June 11, 2020). Black Workers Still Earn Less than Their White Counterparts. SHRM. Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/racial-wage-gap

[4] Wikipedia (n.d.). Racial pay gap in the United States. Wikipedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_pay_gap_in_the_United_States#:~:text=For%20instance%2C%20th e%20median%20black,only%2063%20percent%20as%20much.

[5] Adams K., Shepard, D., & Huang P. (February 7, 2022). Places With the Most Black-Owned Businesses. LendingTree. Retrieved from: https://www.lendingtree.com/business/small/black-owned-businesses- study/#:~:text=Just%202.4%25%20of%20U.S.%20businesses,%25%20— %20of%20the%20U.S.%20population.

[6] Ghosh, I. (December 28, 2020). Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race. Demographics. Visual Capitalist. Retrieved from: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-u-s-population-by-race/

[7] USCCB (n.d.). What is Systemic Racism? USCCB.org. Retrieved from: https://www.usccb.org/issues- and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/upload/racism-and-systemic-racism.pdf