A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES OF RACIAL INEQUITIES IN 21

ST

CENTURY AMERICA

Presented by: The Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change

Anne Kubisch, Keith Lawrence, Raymond Codrington

October 2, 2012 Detroit, MI

OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY:

 A language to talk about race  A framework for understanding how race and ethnicity operate in contemporary America (post-civil rights legislation)  New ideas and strategies for promoting racial equity

What is race and how do we understand it?

 “A social construct”  No biological or scientific basis behind it  Best understood in social and political terms

New Language – we need to identify and talk about:

 The ongoing advantages associated with being "white” – sometimes referred to as a

white privilege

 The ongoing disadvantages associated with being a person of “color”— which we refer to as

structural racism

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Percent of Michigan Population Living Under the Poverty Line by Race (2010)

14% 41% 4% 33% 5% 20% 76% 15% Black Hispanic Percentage of population Source: Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts. http://www.statehealthfacts.org/profileind.jsp?cmprgn=1&cat=1&rgn=24&ind=14&sub=2 Other White Percentage living in poverty

Racial Disparities in Michigan High School Graduation Rates (2009)

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Black/ African American Dropout Hispanic or Latino Will not graduate on time White Asian On track to graduate Source: Race Matters for Michigan Children, 2011. http://www.michiganschildren.org/Equity

How is structural racism different?

Common explanations of entrenched racial and/or ethnic disparity:

Individual Institutional Structural

Racism at the individual or inter-group level:

• Personal prejudice • Racial slurs, the n-word • Inter-group tensions

Solution strategies include: …these are important, and these personal attitudes and beliefs color decision-making and actions.

•

Diversity and multi-culturalism

•

Cultural competence

The bigger problem…

Racism at the

institutional

and

structural

levels

Institutional Racism

Educa tion Health Employ ment Criminal Justice Housing Environ ment

Examples of Institutional Racism

 Discriminatory practices, intentional or not  Redlining or “steering”  Occupational segregation  Racial profiling

One example: Racial profiling

16,00% 14,00% 12,00% 10,00% 8,00% 6,00% 4,00% 2,00% 0,00%

Police Traffic Stops, Searches & Outcomes, by Race/Ethnicity

White Black Hispanic Drivers Stopped by Police Driver or Vehicle Searched During Stop Criminal Evidence Found During Search Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Contacts Between Police and the Public: Findings from the 2002 National Survey.

April 2005.

Institutional Racism: A Systems Perspective

Educa tion Health Employ ment Criminal Justice Housing Environ ment

Structural Racism

Culture

Educa tion Health Employ ment Criminal Justice Housing Environ ment

What is Structural Racism?

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.

Structural Racism and Racial Inequities

Knowledge or Ideological Context

Historically Accumulated White Privilege Contemporary Culture National Values

Social Manifestations

Social Processes Maintaining Racial Hierarchies

Institutional Manifestations

Institutional Racism & Inter-Institutional Interactions Health Education Employment Criminal Justice Environment Housing Production & Reproduction of Racial Inequities

Structural Racism and Racial Inequities

Knowledge or Ideological Context

Historically Accumulated White Privilege Contemporary Culture National Values

Social Manifestations

Social Processes Maintaining Racial Hierarchies

Institutional Manifestations

Institutional Racism & Inter-Institutional Interactions Health Education Employment Criminal Justice Environment Housing Production & Reproduction of Racial Inequities

WE ARE HERE

Historically Accumulated White Privilege

Whites’ historical and contemporary advantages in access to: • quality education • decent jobs • livable wages • home ownership • retirement benefits … have helped create and sustain advantages in wealth accumulation.

Net Worth by Race

Since the “Great Recession,” wealth gap widest in 25 yrs White net worth = 20 X wealth of Blacks; 18 X wealth of Hispanics In 2009, one-quarter of all Black, Hispanic households had ZERO assets.

Source: Pew Research Center Pew Social & Demographic Trends Report

Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics

July 26,2011

Parents/Grandparents of WHITE AMERICANS:

 Had higher incomes/earned salaries

Parents/Grandparents of BLACK AMERICANS:

 Had lower incomes because of educational segregation and discrimination in employment.  Accumulated retirement through union membership, participation in social security, etc.

 Were denied access to suburban real estate because of exclusionary brokering and community planning  Benefited from home ownership policies and were able to buy property in rising neighborhoods.

 Were denied low-interest Federal Housing Authority mortgage loans due to “redlining”

Structural Racism and Racial Inequities

Knowledge or Ideological Context

Historically Accumulated White Privilege Contemporary Culture National Values

Social Manifestations

Social Processes Maintaining Racial Hierarchies

Institutional Manifestations

Institutional Racism & Inter-Institutional Interactions Health Education Employment Criminal Justice Environment Housing Production & Reproduction of Racial Inequities

WE ARE HERE

National Values

Such as:

Equal opportunity:

• A “level playing field”

Meritocracy:

• Advancement depends on talent and effort

Individualism/ Personal Responsibility:

• Individual choices and behaviors determine outcomes

National Values

For too many people of color, these national values do not apply:

Equal Opportunity

Negates the material and psychological advantages of some groups

Often implies inherent laziness and a poor work ethic for many people of color.

These views can be held by whites or POC

Reinforces the myth that individual skills and effort wholly determine outcomes

Structural Racism and Racial Inequities

Knowledge or Ideological Context

Historically Accumulated White Privilege Contemporary Culture National Values

Social Manifestations

Social Processes Maintaining Racial Hierarchies

Institutional Manifestations

Institutional Racism & Inter-Institutional Interactions Health Education Employment Criminal Justice Environment Housing Production & Reproduction of Racial Inequities

WE ARE HERE

Contemporary Culture

Societal norms, values and practices reinforce racial stereotypes and emphasize “innate” capacities of different groups.

The media’s creation and perpetuation of racial stereotypes has been particularly pernicious. For example…

Perceptions of Young Black Men

When people are seen as possessing “deficient” or “deviant” cultural practices:

• It becomes common sense to deny public resources, judge them differently • People can point to culture as an individual not structural impediment to progress.

• These stereotypes are often recycled and have appeared in the past.

Cultural Perceptions:

“Everything’s in a Name”

Percentage of applicants that received interview requests: Common

WHITE

names Kristen Carrie Laurie Meredith Sarah Allison Jill Anne Emily Common

BLACK

names Ebony Latonya Kenya Latoya Tanisha Lakisha Tamika Keisha Aisha

Average 10.3% Average 6.9%

Source: Alan B. Krueger. Economic Scene: sticks and stones can break bones, but the wrong name can make a job hard to find. The New York Times. (December 1, 2002), C2.

Influence of Cultural Perceptions in determining outcomes in opportunity domains .

Source: The Civil Rights Project. “Opportunities Suspended: The Devastating Consequences of Zero Tolerance and School Discipline.” Harvard University. (2000): P.8

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 a Knapsack

• 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.

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

• I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

• 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.

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

Internalized Oppression by African Americans

“Stereotype Threat” • African American students perform as well as their white peers on exams when they are told the test is merely an exercise • They perform more poorly than their white peers when told that the exam is intended to assess their competence and intelligence Source: http://www.ReduceStereotypeThreat.org

Structural Racism and Racial Inequities

Knowledge or Ideological Context

Historically Accumulated White Privilege Contemporary Culture National Values

Social Manifestations

Social Processes Maintaining Racial Hierarchies

WE ARE HERE Institutional Manifestations

Institutional Racism & Inter-Institutional Interactions Health Education Employment Criminal Justice Environment Housing Production & Reproduction of Racial Inequities

Structural Racism is reconstructed and preserved through various sorting processes, such as …

Marginalization Exploitation

Included but relegated

Social Isolation & Exclusion

Taken advantage of Not included

… that often reposition groups of color … rather than eliminate racial hierarchy.

Latin Americans – Examples of exclusion, marginalization, exploitation

       Pressure to deport illegal Mexican workers Southern border fence Periodic “English only” campaigns Community mobilizations against “day laborers.” Occupation segregation, e.g., Mexicans relegated to low wage jobs in food service industry, agriculture, construction Deportation initiatives Labor exploitation in agriculture (migrant farm workers), manufacturing (the garment industry), and home care (housekeeping, child and elder care).

Another social process that maintains racial hierarchies…

Progress and Retrenchment:

Progress has been made through major “racial equality” victories

BUT

Gains on some fronts are often challenged, neutralized or undermined. Significant backlashes develop in key public policy areas.

A recent retrenchment example…

A 2008 report from United for a Fair Economy estimates that the

total loss of wealth for people of

color from subprime loans taken out between 2000 and 2008 will be between

$164 and $213 Billion.

Source: Amaad Rivera et al. Foreclosed: State of the Dream, 2008. United for a Fair Economy. January 15, 2008 .

Structural Racism and Racial Inequities

Knowledge or Ideological Context

Historically Accumulated White Privilege Contemporary Culture National Values

Social Manifestations

Social Processes Maintaining Racial Hierarchies

Institutional Manifestations

Institutional Racism & Inter-Institutional Interactions Health Education Employment Criminal Justice Environment Housing Production & Reproduction of Racial Inequities

Video: An Example of Structural Racism?

“The Color Line and the Bus Line” ◦ Nightline by Ted Koppel

Table Exercise:

     Break into small groups Identify one racial inequity in Michigan Identify the historical origin Identify a contemporary policy or practice that helps perpetuate it Identity an aspect of contemporary culture that helps perpetuate it

In Conclusion….

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Why focus on structural racism?

Structural causes of inequalities are difficult to see because:

 We are so embedded in them  They are woven into the fabric of our assumptions about how things operate  They are self-perpetuating and don’t require active work to be maintained

“Fish don’t notice the water they’re swimming in ”

What does the Structural Racism Framework mean for people who want to reduce inequities?

It means four types of changes in the way we work: • Internal change • Policy change • Practice change • Cultural/representational change

“Internal” Change

Accepting and establishing racial equity as a central tenet and operating principle in our work to improve outcomes 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, and opportunities within your organization and outside your organization

“Practice” Change:

Focusing carefully on all of the ways in which standard practices reproduce – or fail to counteract – racially disparate outcomes. 

For example:

• Critically examine 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:

• Challenge assumptions that employees, board members, policymakers, 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.

PROJECT BREAKTHROUGH: CHANGING THE STORY OF RACE IN JACKSONVILLE

• • •

A partnership of The Community Foundation in Jacksonville, The Jacksonville Human Rights Commission, The OneJax Institute

Since 2008, Project Breakthrough has worked on:  Promoting Civic Leadership: Convened Jacksonville’s key leaders in a seminar on structural racism  Changing Key Policies and Practices: • Conducted training seminars for middle- & high-school educators • Developed a curriculum for judges in Florida  Changing Media Messages: • Convened Jacksonville’s media professionals in a seminar • Conducted training seminars for the staff of the city’s newspaper, The Florida Times Union

Constructing a Racial Equity Theory of Change

What we want Our priorities

Building Block

What helps, hinders

P +/- P +/- R+/-

Desired Racial Equity Outcome Building Block Building Block

P+/ P +/ R +/-

Building Block Building Block

P +/ P +/ R+/-

What we must know

Who has most power, influence to shape PPRs Possible sources of retrenchment How governance works in our context

What we must do

Assess our organizational capacity realistically Given our capacities, decide role we can play, set strategic priorities, identify allies Take action!!

Thank You

The Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change 281 Park Avenue South, 5 th Floor New York, NY 10010 (212) 677-5510