Institutional racism 2

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Lesson goal

At the end of this lesson, you can explain what institutional racism is and how it plays into the current situation in the United States. 

What is 'institutional racism'?

Institutional racism refers to patterns and structures within organisations and institutions that negatively impact some groups on the basis of race (i.e. the lack of resources, power and opportunities)

Institutioneel racisme is het systematisch uitsluiten, marginaliseren en discrimineren van bevolkingsgroepen door formele of informele regels. 

What does the author of the article mean with the title "Violent protests are not the story. Police violence is?"

Yet if the anger and frustration from centuries of racial oppression causes a peaceful protest to become “violent” — and most of the reported attacks have been directed against property, not people, though one man was tragically killed in Detroit — suddenly that other kind of violence becomes the dominant story so far as political leaders are concerned, a disruption to the natural order that must be corrected. The systemic racism that has led to so many black lives being cut short becomes secondary.

How is institutional racism visible in America's criminal justice system?

The list could go on. But the point is made. Racial discrimination is pervasive in American criminal justice, manifesting in every step from arrest to trial to conviction and incarceration. George Floyd’s killing is, sadly, only an extreme example of how the state exerts its power over black Americans. That is what the people protesting his death want to change.

How does institutional racism play into George Floyd's death?

What now? How do we go on?

What can we ourselves do to combat racism?

Read: The Hate U Give, All American Boys, Dear Martin

Watch: 13th (Netflix), When They See Us (Netflix), Dear White People (Netflix), If Beale Street Could Talk (Hulu), The Hate U Give (Hulu), Green Book, Just Mercy, Selma

Sign petitions:

Justice for George Floyd: http://chng.it/ZsJwbhXNLX

Change.org > recommended petitions