Systemic Racism In America

We as a country are in the process of a revolution. Our country has made strides against the taboo ideas of the past. We live in a generation that has elected that elected the first African-American president, some would say that we live in a society where race is no longer the leather restraint that it once was. A society where racism no longer exist, this period is considered the start of a new post-racial America. As great as this seems to feel as though we live in such a utopian society, we still have some minor details to work out. In order to actually achieve this post-racial society we need to recognize a thing. This thing is a sleeping giant it often goes without talking about. That thing is called systemic racism and it is one hell …show more content…
It is defined as a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions. The idea was developed by sociologist Joe Feagin. His claim is that since the United States was born as a racist society, then racism is embedded in all facets of our society. We are familiar with the excerpt of the constitution that states that “All men are created equal.” What many of us don’t realize and often are not taught is that at that time black slaves were not considered people, but more as property. It took 16 presidents to declare them human beings and set the precedent of human rights that we recognize today. Feagin considers this fact and explains that a country that was conceived with such neglect and lived with it for so long is embedded with this idea into it’s DNA, in this case the institutions and construct of our …show more content…
Credit Card redlining is a practice by Credit Card issuers who provide varying amounts of credit to areas based on their ethnic minority composition rather than economic criteria. Issuers often times reduce credit line for an individual with a record of purchases at retailers known to serve “high-risk” customers. Ironically, mortgages have played an unexpected role in today’s society that has still become detrimental. After years of people being denied loans in the inner city, lenders began to hand out loans like candy, but with a catch. In the early 2000s banks and other financial institutions began to consider members of the black community perfect candidates for subprime loans. These are loans are also known as payday loans or in some circumstances predatory loans. These loans are given to people to people with poor credit but have virtually impossible interest rates to keep up with. These banks preyed on these people knowing that they would jump at the opportunity to begin building their wealth after decades of denial. These loans trapped many homeowners in unreasonable debt often costing them their homes and their life saving. These are just a few examples of how systemic racism exist today in sustaining a wage gap in the United