Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY STRUCTURAL RACISM RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY Response to STRUCTURAL

Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change

RACIAL EQUITY ANDRACIAL EQUITY ANDECONOMIC SECURITYECONOMIC SECURITY

Response toSTRUCTURAL RACISMSTRUCTURAL RACISM

Lois J. Carson Don Mathis


funded by the Ford FoundationFord Foundation

Participating Agencies

Georgia

California

RACIAL EQUITY ANDRACIAL EQUITY ANDECONOMIC SECURITYECONOMIC SECURITY

New YorkAction for a Better Community

Rochester, NY

New MexicoCommunity Action New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM (statewide project)

WisconsinSocial Development Commission

Milwaukee, WIFulton Atlanta Community

Action Authority Atlanta, GA

FloridaNortheast Florida Community

Action AgencyJacksonville, FL

MississippiBolivar County Community

Action Program Cleveland, MS

KentuckyCommunity Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon,

Harrison and Nicholas CountiesLexington, KY

Community Action Partnership

of Riverside CountyRiverside, CA


STRUCTURALSTRUCTURAL

RACISMRACISM


Disparate Outcomes

Poverty

Poverty Level for family of 4: $18,100 (US Dept of HHS, 2002)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

All Races White Asian/PacificIslander

Black Hispanic NativeAmerican


Disparate outcomes

Educational Attainment

Source: The Education Trust, 2002

Asian

White

Black

Black

Nat

ive

Am

eric

an

Nat

ive

Am

eric

an

Asian

White

Latin

o

Latin

o

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Graduate From High School Earn Bachelor's Degree


Justice System

Adult Population and Proportion Incarcerated in State and Federal Prisons, 2002

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin. “Prisoners in 2002” U.S. Department of Justice, July 2003; U.S. Census Bureau.

Disparate Outcomes

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Black Hispanic White

Population

Prison


Why are “race” and “racism” suchdifficult issues to grasp and deal with?

We often fail to acknowledge the ways that RACE has been a fundamental axis of social organization in the US

We

often

prefe

r to

addre

ss

sym

ptom

s

rath

er th

an th

e

roots

of s

ocial

proble

ms

We are generally more

comfortable discussingissues of Class

and Gender

They resonate

with our deeply

held beliefs about

“success”

and “failure”

We are still struggling over the meanings of race and equality

We are often reluctant to acknowledge the legacies of race


What is race and how do we understand it?

• Social construct• No biological or scientific basis behind it• Best understood in social and political terms


Leaders who work on racial equity need…

• A language to talk about race

• A framework for understanding how race and ethnicity operate in modern America (post-civil rights legislation)

• New ideas and strategies for reducing racial inequities in key opportunity domains and promoting racial equity


New Language

We need to identify and talk about: • The ongoing advantages

associated with being" white” – sometimes referred to as a white privilege

and • The ongoing disadvantages

associated with being a person of “color”—which we refer to as structural racism


Common explanations of entrenched racial and/or ethnic disparity

StructuralInstitutional Individual

How is Structural Racism Different?


Racism at the individual or inter-group level:

•Personal prejudice•Racial slurs, the n-word• Inter-group tensions•Diversity and multi-culturalism•Cultural competence

…these are important, and these personal attitudes and beliefs color decision-making and actions


The bigger problem …

Racism at the institutional and structural

levels


Environment

Health

Housing

Education

Employment

CriminalJustice

Institutional Racism


Institutional Racism

For example:•Discriminatory practices (whether intentional or not)

•Racial profiling•Redlining or “steering”•Occupational segregation


Environment

Health

Housing

Education

Employment

CriminalJustice

Institutional Racism: A Systems Perspective


It describes the complex ways that history, public policies, institutional

practices and cultural representations (e.g., stereotypes, norms) interact to

maintain racial hierarchy and inequitable racial

group outcomes; thereby allowing privileges associated with “whiteness”

and disadvantages associated with “color”

to endure and adapt.

What is Structural Racism?


Environment

Health

Housing

Education

Employment

CriminalJustice

Structural Racism


Internalized White Privilege

“…an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was meant to remain oblivious….”

• Peggy Macintosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.”


Contents of the Knapsack:• I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my

race most of the time.

• If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live, and I can be pretty sure that my neighbors will be neutral or pleasant to me.

• I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

• I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

• If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.


Contents of the Knapsack:

• I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

• I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

• I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

• I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

• If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

• I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

• If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.


It means four types of changes in the way we work:

• Internal change

• Policy change

• Practice change

• Cultural/representational change

What does the Structural Racism Framework

mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?


“Internal” change,

accepting and establishing racial equity as a central tenetand operating principle in our work to improve outcomes for youth and in our internal work environment…for example

Focus not just on improving outcomes for all but also on reducing racial gaps

Focus not just on diversity in the workplace, but also on racial equity in opportunities for advancement and leadership




“Policy” change,working on the fundamental rules of the game within your organization and your field, and not shrinking from challenging traditional power bases and networks

For example: focus on the fundamental distribution of resources in terms of money, infrastructure, opportunities within your organization and outside your organization by examining its programs and alliances




“Practice” change, focusing carefully on all of the ways in which standard practices reproduce – or fail to counteract – racially disparate outcomes

For example by critically examining informal practices within your organization and their impact on racial and ethnic minorities (e.g., mentoring, access to positions which lead to leadership opportunities, visibility etc.)




“Cultural” or “representational” change, reframing and changing stereotypical messages, images and interpretations of information about people of color

For example, by challenging the assumptions that employees, board members, policymakers, and the citizens of our communities, and other key actors bring to discussions about people of color because these assumptions “frame” how problems are perceived and how solutions are developed




END


Riverside County

REES Project


SUB-COMMITTEESSUB-COMMITTEES

POLICY ADVISORY

to establish the rules of engagement

for the “Big View” Meetings

andCommunity Dialogues

TECHNICAL ADVISORY

to eliminate

Racial Disparity

in the provision

and access to

Quality Child Care


BIG VIEW MEETINGS

Human Rights Commission Human Relations Council Human Relations Commission City of Palm Springs of City of Riverside

Hemet- San Jacinto-Menifee

May 15 TBA TBA

To be followed with dialogues at Colleges/Universities, In Churches and other Venues


1.1. LET US TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECTLET US TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT

2.2. LET US KEEP AN OPEN MINDLET US KEEP AN OPEN MIND

3.3. LET US SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS LET US SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS

4.4. LET US NOT INTERRUPT OTHERSLET US NOT INTERRUPT OTHERS

5.5. LET US STRIVE FOR HONESTYLET US STRIVE FOR HONESTY

6.6. LET US REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ATTACKSLET US REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ATTACKS

7.7. LET US SHARE PERSONAL STORIES FOR ENLIGHTENMENTLET US SHARE PERSONAL STORIES FOR ENLIGHTENMENT

8.8. LET US SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO DISCUSS RACE LET US SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO DISCUSS RACE INTELLECTUALLYINTELLECTUALLY

9.9. LET US RECRUIT GROUPS TO HOST A BIG VIEW MEETINGLET US RECRUIT GROUPS TO HOST A BIG VIEW MEETING

1.1. LET US TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECTLET US TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT

2.2. LET US KEEP AN OPEN MINDLET US KEEP AN OPEN MIND

3.3. LET US SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS LET US SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS

4.4. LET US NOT INTERRUPT OTHERSLET US NOT INTERRUPT OTHERS

5.5. LET US STRIVE FOR HONESTYLET US STRIVE FOR HONESTY

6.6. LET US REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ATTACKSLET US REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ATTACKS

7.7. LET US SHARE PERSONAL STORIES FOR ENLIGHTENMENTLET US SHARE PERSONAL STORIES FOR ENLIGHTENMENT

8.8. LET US SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO DISCUSS RACE LET US SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO DISCUSS RACE INTELLECTUALLYINTELLECTUALLY

9.9. LET US RECRUIT GROUPS TO HOST A BIG VIEW MEETINGLET US RECRUIT GROUPS TO HOST A BIG VIEW MEETING


Question for Round Table Discussion

Documents

Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY STRUCTURAL RACISM RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY Response to STRUCTURAL