What Racial Injustice Really Looks Like in America
The oppressive over-policing of minority communities is just the beginning
Americans need to go beyond discussing tyrannical policing and begin addressing the many other systemic issues that disproportionately affect communities of color. Reforming and rebuilding our policing apparatus must happen. No doubt. However many more social problems continue to be ignored. If America is to address racial injustice, the nation must approach the various systems of oppression targeting minority communities as well.
Solely focusing on police brutality only tells one portion of the racial injustice story. There are many pervasive aspects of our society that perpetuate social inequities. While over-policing is a major issue that must be addressed, it serves no one if America continues to ignore the many aspects of modern society that lead to crimes of desperation, poverty, homelessness, addiction, physical and psychological health problems.
From disparities in healthcare to education inequality to housing discrimination, America has myriad issues that keep people oppressed and poor. The very same contrasts in public access to resources have been keeping generations of Black, Latino, and Indigenous people poor and struggling to advance in a society that constantly laments their suffering by yelling at them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
The problem in addressing these issues stems from those who see themselves as unaffected by the social inequities that plague America. Others believe they are protected from inequality because of their wealth, race, or religion. The reality is everyone is impacted by inequality and injustice. A majority of Americans just couldn’t be bothered to care. That may be changing.
Studies have shown that the lack of social programs in poor and minority communities inevitably puts an unnecessary strain on public services. Ensuring civil society offers equitable programs in neglected communities is only the beginning. While reforming the police is at the forefront of the conversation, it’s base-level social justice. The battle for true justice means simultaneously taking on many of the core issues while focusing on the mission of racial and gender equality.
It starts by addressing policy loopholes — in the public and private sector — that allow for the continuation of racial and ethnic prejudice in policing, banking, real estate, finance, business, employment, economic opportunity, and community investment. Policies put in place by white supremacy that convinces Americans to view minorities as second-class citizens. A viewpoint that is now so normal some people don’t realize they’re perpetuating it.
The perspective of American society that views minorities as “lesser than” affects every aspect of life in lower-income and minority communities. These prejudices impact policy via rhetoric that resembles thought and results in the acceptance of oppressive policies based on the language of discriminatory stereotypes. All of which are policies that warrant discussion.
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