Systemic Racism: The Principal Catalyst of

Racism Today
Josefina Gormaz Villegas, 4th senior.

Systematic racism it's a rooted form of discrimination that has persisted through
history, leaving long lasting consequences on societies worldwide. This essay aims to
explore the thesis that the systematic racism is the principal and main cause for the
persistence of racism in modern times, by analyzing historical context, along with the
presentation of current data, with this, we will be able to illuminate ourselves with the
different mechanisms that affect racial inequalities.
The first public sale of African slave’s dates since 1444, in 1777 the state of Vermont after
the American revolution becomes the first sovereign state to abolish slavery, later in the
United States slavery was abolished in 6th of December of 1865, after that the last country
to abolish slavery was Mauritania in 1981.
After the civil war, a great number of government agencies started to divide cities into
sections or sectors that are worth investing in or not, this was called “red lining” and it
mostly blocked black neighborhoods access to private and public investment. Banks and
insurance companies used these maps for decades to decide to who they give loans or not,
excluding black people. This divided the country in black and white sectors and it’s a
common type of racism called systemic racism, where companies, banks and insurance
companies deny different types of privileges or opportunities just based on the place they
live.
Despite the Emancipation Proclamation and the abolition of slavery, discriminatory laws
such as Jim Crow’s segregation and the "one-drop rule" (rule that stated that whoever had
at least one black ancestor in the last five generations was black) continued to affect racial
inequalities.
Contemporary data reveals how systemic racism affects till the date. Racial disparities
persist across various sectors, including education, employment, housing, criminal justice,
and healthcare. Examples we can clearly see is an investigation realized in the 1980´s of
the real estate market showed that banks where more willing to offer loans to low-income
white family’s tan middle or upper income African American families. Also, a 2017 study
confirms that red lining still affects the home values around cities like Chicago, which are
formed by mainly black families. In the job market, people of color often encounter bias
during recruitment, promotion, and salary negotiations. A study by the National Bureau of
Economic Research found that resumes with African American-sounding names received
fewer callbacks compared to identical resumes with white-sounding names, highlighting
the presence of systemic racism in employment practices.
Housing discrimination remains prevalent, with minority communities experiencing
redlining, predatory lending, and restricted access to quality neighborhoods. This
perpetuates residential segregation and contributes to disparate educational opportunities.
The criminal justice system demonstrates some of the strongest racial disparities. African
Americans are disproportionately arrested, convicted, and sentenced compared to their
white counterparts for similar offenses.
Cultural norms, perpetuated through media, education, and socialization, reinforce racial
stereotypes and biases. These norms influence societal attitudes, contributing to
unconscious bias, microaggressions, and systemic discrimination. People may not
consciously have racist beliefs, systemic racism functions on a collective level, creating
disparities regardless of personal intentions.
In conclusion, systemic racism represents the principal and main reason for the persistence
of racism in contemporary society. Historical roots, marked by slavery and discriminatory
policies, have made racial inequalities establish in society. Systemic racism persists
through institutional structures and cultural norms, perpetuating discrimination and
marginalization on a worldwide scale, making us behave in certain ways that might be
discriminatory and marginalized, but at the same time having that behaviors so established
in our culture that we don’t realize our actions and demeanor.