institutional racism

is a magic word which says you don't have to find anyone guilty of racism there just racist by virtue of being a of a particular race which of course is a racist statement.

you see mr. Taylor what what the case is is there black people grew up very poor because of institutional racism institutional is a magic word which says you don't have to find anyone guilty of racism there just racist by virtue of being a of a particular race which of course is a racist statement

is racism which regardless of racist intent, accrues in institutional laws, customs, or practices.

those established laws, customs, and practices which systematically reflect and produce racial inequalities in American society. If racist consequences accrue to institutional laws, customs, or practices, the institution is racist whether or not the individuals maintaining those practices have racist intentions. Institutional racism can be either overt or covert (corresponding to de jure and de facto, respectively) and either intentional or unintentional. (p. 438)

is the idea that regardless of what white people may feel on an individual level, the state of their institutions, be it the church, the union, the real estate lobby, the board of education), exclude blacks.

I don't know what most white people in this country feel, but I can only conclude what they feel from the state of their institutions. I don't know if white Christians hate Negroes or not, but I know that we have a Christian church which is white and a Christian church which is black. I know as Malcolm X once put it, ''The most segregated hour in America is high noon on Sunday.'' That says a great deal to me about a Christian nation. It means that I can't afford to trust most white Christians and certainly cannot trust the Christian church. I don't know whether the labor unions and their bosses really hate me. That doesn't matter. But I know that I'm not in their unions. I don't know if the real estate lobby has anything against black people, but I know the real estate lobby keeps me in the ghetto. I don't know if the board of education hates black people, but I know the textbooks they give my children to read and the schools that we go to. Now this is the evidence! You want me to make an act of faith risking myself, my wife, my woman, my sister, my children on some idealism which you assure me exist in America which I have never seen. [Emphasis added.]

is not a useful concept, as evidenced by that fact that just because an institution has racism in it, it does not follow that there is institutional racism.

I don't want to say that there's broad institutional racism in the United States because you have to name to me the exact institution and you have to name to me how its how its spread throughout that institution and isn't just individuals within that institution and then we can change it okay so that's an institution that has racism that's not the same thing as arguing there's institutional racism in the United States as a general rule because that suggests that America is generally racist which is something with which I disagree

is not a useful concept because, owing to its vagueness and lack of anything but anecdotal evidence, there is no way for society to fight it.

when we say institutional racism the problem is there's no way for me to fight that with you because it's too vague so if you say a particular institution is racist and then demonstrate to me the evidence that the institution is racist not that it's badly police not that it's incompetent because there are police departments that are incompetent but there's actual motivated racism there then we can do something about and I'll stand right alongside you but my problem is that when people say institutional racism it seems to me a broad rubric under which they can subsume all complaints about American society or the cops so you'll have situations where a black guy gets shot by the cops and the first reaction is not was the cop incompetent it was the cop had to be racist because there's a white cop and a black guy and so what you've seen is the DOJ in some cases like for example if you have a police department they'll say that there's institutional bias there but then they'll provide no actual evidence of institutional bias they'll just say a disproportionate number of black people were imprisoned or arrested by the police department well is it possible that it's disproportionate number of black people were criminals in Seattle sure I mean that's that's actually what they found in 1994 they thought that there was

is a vicious cycle whereby housing disparity leads to low taxes which leads to poor schooling which leads to low education and dropouts and blacks entering the criminal justice system and because of the median prejudice they receive longer sentences and can't get jobs when they're finally released which leads to poor communities which leads to housing disparities, rinse, wash, and repeat.

is driven, either intentionally or unintentionally, through housing, education, criminal judgement system, media, and employment.

institutional racism, n.Definitions

institutional racism