Arguments Against Institutional Racism

Sometimes the biggest issues are the ones hardest to pinpoint. Even the people who seem trustworthy are, at times, susceptible to the hidden agendas that take place within unlikely places. This is precisely why institutional racism isn’t something many people talk about on a regular basis. Institutional racism is one of the most common types of discrimination that goes on in the workplace, business, and institutional industry. It is defined as “the societal patterns that have the net effect of imposing oppressive or otherwise negative conditions against identifiable groups on the basis of race or ethnicity” (Head). With the help of research and writings of researcher Keith Lawrence at Aspen Institute on Community Chance; Robert Slayden, a writer …show more content…
Keith Lawrence and Terry Keleher state that “[s]tructural racism lies underneath, all around and across society”. Racism isn’t as outright and blatant these days in the post-Civil Rights Era. Every citizen of the United States is supposed to have their rights now regardless of color, but just because they’re supposed to doesn’t mean they always do. Racism is still heavily prominent in America, but like Lawrence and Keleher stated, it’s more hidden now. These days “[t]he more subtle forms of racism…totally get away with it, because they don’t fit easy stereotypes” (Slayton). However, even Slayton acknowledges that the definition and scope of institutional racism has evolved over the years. He says that back then it was “racism by habit, rather than intent”. These days, racism and discrimination is hidden within the corporations because they have become a part of our society, and many people are aware that it exists but there has not really been an active fight to end it yet. People are so used to the idea of it that regardless of whether or not they are aware, they allow it to …show more content…
Knowles and Prewitt, the authors of the book Institutional Racism in America that describes this study, note that institutions hold “great power to reward and penalize” individuals and groups and that this power works underneath and through the institution’s official policies. What this means to say is that there is actually no stated fact anywhere in any of the corporations that institutional racism takes place, but the fact that institutions having so much power over the people who work for them can lead to corruption and discrimination. They found that by analyzing the reactions of white people to the inequalities typical in their institutions, the perception of conditions improving within communities dominant with people of color and the reliance on programs which are directed at the ghetto are just illusions that are actually keeping institutionsfrom changing their racist habits. Racist tendencies themselves (i.e., maintaining the status quo) must be addressed within the white community before any program begin to make a difference. The team suggests that individuals working alone cannot effect appreciable change because the nature of group pressure is such that dissenting