July began in the midst of societal upheaval. As a nation, we’ve directed our focus toward the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are skyrocketing in some states. At a local level, students are pushing for university-wide changes that consider the inequities of returning to campus. The prospect of change is within reach as Americans seek to transform our society.
For those who want to engage in an open conversation with family, friends, or coworkers about challenging or uncomfortable topics, the largest barrier might be where to start and what exactly to say. Discussing facts and figures is difficult when you aren’t familiar with them. This piece presents data that will hopefully make engaging in conversations about BLM more navigable.
One thing to note before evaluating history and statistics is the difference between using the words “systemic” and “systematic,” especially in reference to racism. Something that is systematic is habitual and happens as a result of a system. On the other hand, something that is systemic affects every part of the system or happens within the system. Racism is systemic because it was built into our system.
History of Legislation
After the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865, the American state and local governments enacted black codes as a legal loophole to keep African Americans in a state of indentured servitude. Black codes were first enacted in Mississippi and South Carolina, primarily limiting black individuals’ ability to work and own property. Each state enacted their own codes, however, all Confederate states forced strict labor contracts onto black workers, threatening them with violence and and forced labor if the contract was broken. Governments repealed black codes at the start of the Reconstruction era in 1866. However once Reconstruction failed in 1877, the Southern states turned to “Pig Laws.” These laws were designed to unfairly punish African Americans for crimes such as stealing an animal. Further, vagrancy statutes criminalized unemployment and blacks were charged with felonies as a result of trivial misdemeanors.
Pig Laws were enforced for decades and later expanded with the introduction of Jim Crow laws in the 1880s. This set of laws enforced segregation in schools, transportation, restrooms, restaurants, and virtually any public space. Jim Crow segregation also affected the voting process. For example, Blacks and poor whites were often forced to take literacy tests in order to vote, despite the fact that most were illiterate in the 20th century. The last Jim Crow law to be abolished was in 1964 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. Yet, there are still articles published in 2005 that read “Georgia erases last of ‘Jim Crow’ laws”. When asked about the story, Georgia’s governor deemed it a “symbolic move,” as “none of the language designed to skirt racial integration has been enforced for decades.” Symbolism was not enough.
Systemic Racism Disguised: Mass Incarceration by the Numbers
The Netflix documentary 13th delves into the modern form of Jim Crow: mass incarceration. Mass incarceration can be traced back to the 1970s when the war on drugs campaign started with President Nixon, who “projected implicit biases against the Black community,” as Yuna notes in her article on 13th. The war on drugs campaign is still alive and well today, costing the US over $1 trillion since 1971. According to the Center for American Progress, each incarcerated inmate cost $31,977.65 ($87.61 per day) for fiscal year 2015. At the same time, 105,000 individuals were incarcerated in Federal prisons for drug related offenses in calendar year 2015. One-fifth of incarcerated individuals are serving time for a drug charge, while “a national evaluation of drug courts found that participants were 26 percent less likely to report substance use after completing the program than individuals processed through traditional judicial systems.”
The racial disparities associated with the war on drugs are even more troubling. Black Americans make up 12.5 percent of all substance users while being targeted for 30 percent of all drug-related offenses. The Center for American Progress lists three statistics that are especially troubling:
- Black Americans are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana charges than their white peers.
- Almost 80 percent of people serving time for a federal drug offense are black or Latino.
- In state prisons, people of color make up 60 percent of those serving time for drug charges.
There is no doubt that the United States prison system is biased toward incarcerating individuals of color and further, that racism is in fact systemic rather than systematic. The system is not what made us racist. We have injected our own racial prejudice into a system that disproportionately affects black people since the start. Each piece of legislation has been created with the image of being inclusive, but as history has proven time and time again, we are simply modifying the face of racism.
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At times, I’ve found reflecting on the past few months to be difficult. Mass change can be anxiety-inducing for some. Personally, part of this anxiety comes from the fear of misinformation, or simply not being informed enough. This can stem from a general skepticism about the accuracy of one’s sources or it can come from a consistent lack of context or facts pertaining to the situation at hand. Are we taking the best, most logical course of action? Who decides what the best course of action would be?
Throughout the chaos of a global pandemic and monotony of a prolonged quarantine, recent events have caused us to shift our attention toward the problematic nature of age-old institutions. Right now, we as a society are engaging in a confrontation and an examination of these often racist, misogynistic, and financially exclusive institutions that we ourselves created. This is a sign of progress.
systemic racism history; systemic racism history
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