2/12/19 – Biweekly Blog: Institutionalized Discrimination…It is Still with Us.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
As part of Black History Month we are going to take a look at the reality of institutionalized discrimination. Here are some definitions of the various terms we have to know to understand the concept courtesy of James Henslin from his text “Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach.” Prejudice can be defined as prejudging others usually in a negative way. It is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or ones experience. It is a way of perceiving or an attitude that does not have to lead to discrimination. With some self-awareness and motivation to be open to hearing what another has to say in order to understand their experience, we can transcend our misperceptions.
Discrimination is an actual act of unfair treatment against an individual or group. Institutional discrimination is the unfair treatment of a minority group that is built into society’s institutions. It is sometimes called systemic discrimination. A minority group can be defined as people who are singled out for unequal treatment and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination. They are often singled out by the group with the most power, greatest privilege, and highest social status. They are sometimes called the majority group.
In the U.S. minority groups include: Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, Immigrants, Women, LGBT, Muslims, and people of lower social class or the poor. The real tricky part of prejudice and discrimination is we all have implicit bias. We simply are not aware of how the culture we live in has embedded prejudices in us that often lead to discrimination. We see our way of thinking and acting as the norm. As an example consider Rosa Parks. As a white man living in the year 2019 I could not even begin to consider getting on a bus and demanding that a black woman get out of her seat so I could have it. That type of entitlement, based on racial prejudice is, foreign to me. But if I grew up in that era of segregation what would I have done. Would the powerful aversion I have now to such an act be reversed? Would I feel an equally powerful sense of entitlement and commensurate anger if she did not relinquish her seat? What conscious and unconscious entitlements and prejudices based on my majority status do I carry with me today as I type away?
An example of institutional discrimination is profiling. Most are aware of the “Driving While Black” cases that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. Specifically, racial profiling is when law enforcement officials intervene based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. For more information on this topic take a look at: https://www.aclu.org/report/driving-while-black-racial-profiling-our-nations-highways. And for a deeper look: https://courses2.cit.cornell.edu/sociallaw/student_projects/DrivingWhileBlack.htm. Profiling is related to both conscious prejudicial attitudes and/or implicit bias. Despite increased awareness of the impact of bias, driven by the numerous incidents of white police officers assaulting and sometimes shooting and killing black alleged suspects, we continue to have incidents that are likely based on conscious or unconscious prejudices. With all the media coverage and increased awareness one wonders why this persists. Part of the problem is the more powerful groups such as police departments have the support of the general public, the majority, and this prevents meaningful evaluations of the tragic events. At this point being a police officer has become extremely stressful and being part of the black minority terrifying when it comes to being approached by a white officer. With this level of fear and apprehension the fight/flight response is heightened and the potential for negative outcomes increases.
Redlining is another example of institutional discrimination where banks and insurance companies, to name just two institutions, refuse or limit loans, mortgages, or insurance and/or charge higher rates in specific areas, particularly inner-city neighborhoods. Even when Blacks have equal qualifications in relation to whites they are given higher interest rates. In some instances this occurs only after applicants checked the race box on the application. This is why the work people like Muhammad Yunus, giving microloans to people who would not normally qualify for loans, are doing is so important. It gives people a chance that they would not have otherwise.
There are many other examples of institutionalized discrimination, supported by research, such as: the disparity in interviews granted based on resumes submitted with American or non-American names; medical treatments assigned due to race, gender or socioeconomic status; students assigned to educational tracks in school based on race, gender, and socioeconomic status. These are all forms of structural violence that limit the potential of individuals and the local and global community. We must commit to raising our awareness about the existence of institutionalized discrimination, its causes, and the solutions, and actively work to eliminate it. One of the groups working toward this is the “Poor People’s Campaign”: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/. They are worth looking into. We can all do our part and commit to making a more just and equitable world for all of us. Find your level of comfort, or take a step out of your comfort zone, and get involved in supporting equal rights for all.