WHAT IS SYSTEMIC RACISM?

A friend from England saw one of my posts when I mentioned that we have systemic racism in our society, and she asked me to explain that. I was surprised that she needed to ask, because all societies have elements of an "Us vs. Them" mentality, and the societies of Western Europe to some extent still suffer from class systems that go all the way back to medieval feudalism. But, of course, she made me realize that somehow the term is not universally understood. So I tried to explain it to her, but have been thinking about it more since then and want to make my understanding clear.

In the late 18th Century Age of Enlightenment, the Founders of our nation envisioned a new society that was not subject to a class system based on the old feudal models with a monarchy at its head. Our Declaration of Independence outlined the basic ideals of their vision and the justification they made for wanting to separate from England. After the success of our Revolution, the Founders wrote our Constitution to set out how the new nation would be governed, leaving each of the former thirteen colonies that would become the original states upon ratification of the Constitution to develop governments as their leadership bodies saw fit.

The basis for the main ideals of the new nation was the assertion that " . . . that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Nevertheless, the freedom, liberty and the rights of man that they championed were not universal. Men in bondage, indigenous people, and women were excluded from the benefits of these rights. Because of the era and their culture of origin, and since they were heirs to the results of the way Western Europeans treated the indigenous people and due to the establishment of the institution of slavery through the kidnapping and sale of people from Africa, the ideals our Founders believed in were flawed from our perspective.

By the time they wrote our Constitution, even though there was a heated debate concerning the perpetuation of slavery, they voted to allow the institution of slavery to continue to exist. In addition, in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, to determine how the population was counted for the purposes of taxation and political representation, white men who were free, white men who were bound in servitude, and ndigenous people who paid taxes were counted as whole men, but male slaves from Africa and their male descendants were counted as if they were 3/5 of a person. Indigenous men who didn't pay taxes were not counted at all.

The systemic racism of our society precludes the formation of our nation and is especially the result of the besetting sins of slavery and how the indigenous people of the territories that became parts of our nation were treated. It wasn't until 1865 after the Civil War that slavery was abolished. The plight of the emancipated slaves remained substandard and they were subject to oppression in the states that had formed the Confederacy and elsewhere. Prejudice, bigotry, violence and lack of education led to untold misery that continued for over a hundred years. Systemic racism is evil and must have a host to exist and be tolerated. That host has been our political leadership and the people who have elected them.

Nevertheless, even though the systemic racism we suffer from is a pre-existing condition, it has been perpetuated over the years despite the Civil War in the mid-19th Century, the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-20th Century and because of the rise of facism and increasing numbers of hate groups in the last thirty years, especially evident recently. over and over state laws and federal laws were passed to keep up the status quo and more deeply entrench the attitudes and conditions that perpetuate the inequality, injustice and violence that very sadly are still extant in our society.

"Systemic racism" means that inequality, injustice, prejudice, bigotry, oppression and lack of opportunity are ingrained and accepted in our society. It means that our leadership and the majority of people in our nation have not done enough to ensure equality, justice, intolerance of prejudice and bigotry and equal opportunity for all citizens. It means that because of systemic racism, generations of people and current citizens who are not white are not treated the same way white people are thought about and treated.

Beyond the above, the results of systemic racism have led to poverty, addictions and violence on many levels. Ancillary problems stemming from systemic racism include the gun control debacle, the struggle over affordable health care and the cancellation or threat of cancellation of programs that assist people who have the lowest incomes in our society, who are homeless, or who are elderly.

Our systemic racism leads to economic injustice and attitudes by the prevailing political leaders and those who voted for them that result in a negation of programs that help minorities, a great many of whom live in poverty.

So how do we change the systemic racism that operates in our society?

First of all we have to have the will to change it. Slavery was brought to the Western Hemisphere and then perpetuated because it was considered legal. in the 19th Century the efforts of abolitionists and the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency led to the Civil War. In the mid-20th Century, African American activists were joined by white supporters and the power of the provisions and activities of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Since the 1960s laws were passed ending segregation resulting in positive strides including access to better educational and economic opportunities. These victories were hard-won but also led to a more tolerant society on some levels.

Over all, since the mid-sixties, political administrations led by elected officials of the Democratic Party have initiated more executive orders and legislation that have led to more opportunities and more justice for minorities and women.

When Barack Obama was elected president, this was a great triumph, but the situation we find ourselves in now is primarily the result of backlash by white people who do not agree with the principles and actions that were initiated and upheld during the administrations led by Democratic Party leaders.

Second of all, if we are to continue to demolish the systemic racism in our society, we have to speak out against the activities of the leadership that wants to perpetuate it. In the last presidential election not only was the White House lost to the Republicans, but they ended up with enough seats in the Senate and in the House of Representatives potentially to have control over the legislation they favor. So as long as that administration has federal political power as well as power over certain states, systemic racism will be more difficult to change into a system more in line with the ideals of liberty, freedom and equality for all.

Finally, we need to work on repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation because of all the ways that people have suffered because of our systemic racism. Then we can all work together to elect the people who will pass laws that will help bring about a new reality in our society so that true justice and equality become the norm of our lives together as a nation.

I would love to believe that all of this will be easy, but in our current environment, it probably will not be. That's okay that we have our work cut out for us, though. We can seek God's help and work in and through Him together with everyone who believes that the systemic racism is not acceptable and that the people who have suffered from it have suffered long enough. Beyond their suffering, we have all been diminished because of the inequality, injustice and unrighteousness.

Whether or not we believe in any particular religion, those of us who are white have had access to rights, privileges and opportunities just because we are white and have benefited from the systemic racism. Therefore, whether we acknowledge it or not, we have been guilty of not doing enough to change the system and to make sure every one of our citizens has the same rights, freedoms and opportunities that we take for granted.

We have our work cut out for us and the most important thing is to come to the aid of those in our society who are oppressed and work against those who would try to continue to make things the way they have been. We need to have the same vision that Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and others have spoken of, and work toward making that dream based on freedom, equal, justice and righteousness to come true.

We have our work cut out for us, but as long as we have the will to overcome the forces that want to maintain the status quo or even make it worse, we will be victorious because it is the right thing to do.