The death of George Floyd in May of this year sparked national reactions all over America. Some of these reactions included outrage and riots. Protests erupted across the country calling for an end to racism and police brutality. Other reactions ranged from a denial of racism in America on an institutional level to the belief that his death was justified. My objective for this article is to affirm that institutional racism exists, and explain how Catholics should respond to it.
Three Types of Racism
Racism manifests within society in three different ways. (Jones, J. M, Prejudice and Racism, 1997).
The first is individual or personally mediated racism. An example of this type of racism may occur when an individual holds preconceived notions about a person’s behavior or motives based on their skin color. These ideologies are forced onto the individual.
The second form of racism is internalized. It occurs when a member of a marginalized group turns negative connotations inward and become agents of their own oppression (Sullivan and Cross Mean-Making, pg. 212).
Institutional racism (also known as systemic racism) is the third type of racism and has been the most prevalent in the United States historically. It occurs when racism is embedded deeply within institutions, policies, organizations, or society at large. This type of racism allows for discrimination in the criminal justice system, politics, housing, healthcare, education, and voting among other matters. Both personally mediated and internalized racism are offshoots of the tree of systemic racism. Systemic racism is the most widespread and accepted form of racism in society.
Historical Manifestations of Systemic Racism in the U. S
The earliest manifestations of institutional racism took the form of both the enslavement of Native Americans and African Americans. In both cases, Natives and African Americans were regarded as “savages” or denied the right of being human altogether (Slavery in the United States: Persons or Property?; Finkelman, 2012). The church vehemently rebuked the institutional slavery of human beings in both Sublimus Dei and Supremi Apostolatus. The main basis for the rejection of slavery in these Papal Bulls was the violation of the dignity of the human person. Each human person was made in the image and likeness of God and given the faculties to choose to love freely and willfully in worship (CCC 1700).
Despite formal condemnations by both the Church and by Holy Scripture (Galatians 3:28-29), Chattel slavery persisted in the US, even by many men of the Christin faith like Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. This was no doubt caused by the normalization of chattel slavery into southern society and the acceptance of it as beneficial. One might ask why devout Christians could hold to such views of other humans made in the image of God. Stokeley Carmichael gives a chilling answer in the book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation. He states that institutional racism “originates in the operation of established and respected forces in society, and thus receives far less public condemnation” (Politics of Liberation, Carmichael, 1992).
The economy of the South was dependent on the production of tobacco crops, rice, and sugar cane. After the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, demand for cotton skyrocketed and the need for cotton laborers intensified. This eventually gave birth to slave trades. African American families were torn apart as sons and daughters, husbands and wives were auctioned off to the highest bidder according to how profitable they were perceived to be. The question for the South then wasn’t how morally wrong chattel slavery was, but rather how much more profitable it could become.
Loopholes in the Law
The second most prevalent example of systemic racism on a large scale happened with the birth of Jim Crow economics. As the reign of the Confederate secession came to an end, the dawn of the Reconstruction Era began. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were ratified. These amendments abolished chattel slavery, granted legal citizenship to African Americans, and granted them a right to vote. African American literacy rose from 10 percent to 30 percent by 1880, and the percentage of black children attending school went from 2 to 34 percent.
If we turn to the political and economic sphere, we see the same types of results. In 1866 only .5 percent of African American men could vote. A few years later with the passing of the 15th amendment, 700,000 out of 1 million African American men voted in the 1872 presidential election. The Per Capita income of African Americans increased by 140 percent, and in South Carolina, they constituted a majority of the elected officials from 1868 to 1876 (The First and Second Reconstructions, McPherson James, M. Pg. 138-139).
This newfound economic prosperity was short-lived for African Americans. Anti-black southern political powers pushed back by finding loopholes in the civil rights amendments. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crimes committed (US Constitution, Amendment XIII, section 1). In order to work around this amendment, Southern lawmakers enacted new laws known as black codes and vagrancy laws. These laws listed subjective activities such as “mischief” and “insulting gestures” as crimes and were enforced vigorously against blacks (The New Jim Crow, Alexander Michelle pg 147).
These laws also criminalized any African Americans who didn’t have jobs and arrested anyone found congregating in groups of more than three. Any white person who was willing to pay the fine on behalf of the person of color was entitled to take them as unpaid labor until the debt could be paid off with labor. This system, known as Peonage, was another way to force people of color back into unpaid labor. (Inequality in U.S. Policy, Warde Brian). There were no laws prohibiting the enforcement of residential, economic, or educational restrictions on voting which paved the way for more socio-economic restraints for blacks like transportation, restaurants, churches, and schools being segregated. Banks were given leeway to deny people of color housing and lending services. This lead to the great migrations into the North.
Systemic Racism Today
Because institutional racism can be so normalized and deeply embedded into society some people may have trouble knowing how to identify it. Now that we have discussed two instances of past examples of systemic racism, we have an idea of how systemic racism operates. If we look at our society in America today, some of the same patterns still rear their ugly heads. We will only discuss a few.
One example of this can be found in the criminal justice system. Statistics have proven that black people are more likely than any other race to experience excessive force while facing contact with police officers [11]. Black men are also more likely to face longer, harsher sentences for similar crimes than their non-African American counterparts by up to 19%[12]. Many people will and have argued that black men commit more violent crimes than any other race, yet advanced DNA testing is providing exonerations of black men for violent crimes at a staggering rate. A 2016 study with the national registry of exonerations found that despite the population of black males being less than 13%, they made up almost 50% of exonerations. This included men who were tried by jury and convicted of murder, sexual assault, and drug crimes and were later exonerated by advanced DNA testing [13]. It is worthy to note that the 13th amendment does not include those convicted of crimes in its amendment on the abolition of slavery. Oftentimes prisoners work for big corporations making less than 12 cents an hour [14].
Racist Redlining
Oftentimes when we think of racial redlining in financial institutions two things come to mind. 1) Jim Crow and 2) How far we’ve come since then. However, statistics don’t vindicate this mindset to be reflected in reality. They show that people of color are still discriminated against by financial institutions. Lawsuits with The US Dept of Justice revealed two recent incidents (2009, 2019) where two banks in southern states were intentionally withholding lending services to predominantly black neighborhoods. Both cases ended with settlements, resolutions to do better, and new branches opening in those predominantly minority neighborhoods[15,16]. The normalized societal view of meritocracy does not take into account systems of oppression embedded in our culture such as these examples.
Politics and Voting Restrictions
In 2013 the Department Of Justice filed a lawsuit The North Carolina House Bill 589 which required voters to have a picture ID to vote and eliminated the early voting days when African Americans are known to vote. This bill was struck down by the fourth circuit court of appeals on the basis of having discriminatory intent. It was quickly replaced with Senate Bill 824 in 2020 which was struck down for the same cause. A similar bill in Texas (SB 14) was struck down by a federal judge for similar reasons. It’s worthy to note that Alabama, Indiana, Texas, and North Carolina are all Southern States that have historically oppressed black votes and racially redlined. The southern Strategy in politics has been a successful way for political parties to garner southern votes by using anti-black language.
Father Augustus Tolton
Father Augustus Tolton was the first publicly black priest in the United States to be Ordained. Tolton was the son of two Catholic slaves, Peter and Martha Tolton. His father died when he was young and his mother escaped with him and his siblings to the North. The small family made their way to Quincy, Illinois where Martha began looking for proper education for young Augustus.
This would mark his beautiful but sad journey deeper into the faith and into ordination. In a biography written by Auxiliary bishop Joseph N Perry, he details out the struggles that Augustus faced as a child integrating into an all-white Catholic school. Tolton was ridiculed by the students for his lack of education until he cried long helpless sobs. The parishioners became so outraged by his presence in the school that they began protesting and even broke a parish window. (Father Augustus Tolton, Perry Joseph N, pg 6-7). Despite these setbacks, Tolton grew ever passionate about holy orders. After being rejected by every seminary in the United States, Father Tolton did not give up and neither did the priests who loved and cared for him. He was eventually ordained in Rome.
The Communal Hurt of Systemic Racism
It is in this example of a blessed priest that we can see the dangers of the subtleties and acceptance of systemic racism on a larger scale as normalcy in society. We can also see how systemic racism was the main tree that resulted in the branches of many personally mediated experiences of Father Tolton. Most of all through Father Tolton’s young tears and angry parishioners’ threats to break from the faith we see how badly this damages the community of the Church, and the communities around us. The catechism of the Catholic Church says that “Since all the faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others”(CCC 947). In our vocation to work towards the good of humanity, we should view the suffering of others through the lens of love and be willing to learn from other people’s experiences.
Footnotes
[1] Jones, J. M. (1997). Prejudice and Racism (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill
[2] Sullivan, Jas, and William Cross. Meaning-Making, Internalized Racism, and African American Identity. e-book, Amsterdam-Netherlands, Netherlands, Amsterdam University Press, 2016.
[3] Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1700
[4] “Slavery in the United States: Persons or Property?” Duke University School of Law, July 2012, scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5386&context=faculty_scholarship.
[5] Ture, Kwame, and Charles Hamilton. Black Power : The Politics of Liberation. No Edition Stated, Vintage, 1992.
[6] McPherson, James M. “The Dimensions of Change: The First and Second Reconstructions.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976-), vol. 2, no. 2, 1978, pp. 135–144. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40255407.
[7] United States Constitution
[8] Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow. Amsterdam-Netherlands, Netherlands, Amsterdam University Press, 2010.
[9] Warde, Bryan. Inequality in U.S. Social Policy. e-book, Abingdon-United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2016.
[10] Perry, Joseph N. Father Augustus Tolton
[11]https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/punf0211.pdf
[13]http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/Race_and_Wrongful_Convictions.pdf
[14]https://www.prisonpolicy.org/prisonindex/prisonlabor.html
20 thoughts on “An Examination of Systemic Racism”
Why do you spend 95% of your article passionately arguing for two propositions which nobody disputes? Namely that
– institutional racism existed in the past in the USA, and that
– the Catholic Church has always condemned institutional racism and chattel slavery.
Is it because the very few examples of recent “institutional racism” against negroes that you have been able to dig up are so few and so doubtful? So you try to use the emotional impact of your historical stories of terrible institutional racism, to give the reader the impression that institutional racism is still common and severe?
Hello Peter K!
First thing, let’s always remember to engage in charity!
While Indiana may not be considered a southern state, it’s not important enough to spend any time debating about as it doesn’t have anything to do with the article!
And to answer your question, it is very good that most people don’t disagree with the history of systemic racism! That’s very good to hear, and it was never argued that anyone did! The article is built on the premise that most people would agree that the things I listed were examples of systemic racism, that way when I listed some examples from today, people would be able to see the pattern of the exploitation of the 13, 14, and 15th amendments. I did not get to touch on nearly enough of the manifestations of systemic racism that I wanted to touch on being that we have a word limit, but I do have a project set aside for that which will delve a lot deeper into it! I hope that it interests you and that you’d want to read it!
I did notice that a few people mentioned emotions. I actually tried to be as objective as possible and only really attempted to evoke emotions when talking about Fr. Augustus Tolton! This was because I wanted to resonate with the reader just how much racism can affect Catholics, and wound the body. Thanks, and I’m looking forward to hearing your response!
You didn’t answer my questions.
I’m sorry that you saw them as somehow uncharitable, which was not my intent at all.
Indiana is a “southern state”??
You might want to check a map.
In response to the idea that the Dixiecrats became Republicans:
“Contrary to legend, it makes no sense for them to join with the Republican Party whose history is replete with civil rights achievements. The answer is, they returned to the Democrat party and rejoined others such as George Wallace, Orval Faubus, Lester Maddox, and Ross Barnett. Interestingly, of the 26 known Dixiecrats (5 governors and 21 senators) only three ever became Republicans: Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms and Mills E. Godwind, Jr. The segregationists in the Senate, on the other hand, would return to their party and fight against the Civil Rights acts of 1957, 1960 and 1964. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower proffered the first two Acts.”
This is from a great little article:
https://freedomsjournalinstitute.org/latest-news/history/urban-legends-the-dixiecrats-and-the-gop/
Hello Mike! My article is largely referring to the common people who were Democrats and switched parties, but thank you for the article!
Hi Briana, in response, yes indeed, Jim Crow, established and maintained by the Democratic Party was indeed an example of systemic racism as of course was slavery Both have been illegal for a very long time, slavery since 1865, Jim Crow since 1964. I did mention Jim Crow, in my response, as well as the national poltiical institution which alone bears responsibility for it. Not sure why you thought I hadn’t taken it into account. I guess if you had any current examples of “systemic racism” you’d have mentioned them.
I did note current examples of “systemic racism” today in the form of race based quotes and set asides, speech codes, as well I might add, as efforts to persecute through intimidation, bullying, threats, loss of livelihood etc., those who fail to adequately appease racist leftists pushing a favored narrative.
And you did ask “Didn’t that happen to the African Americans during chattel slavery and the south during Jim Crow?”, and did so just after correctly noting that yes indeed those were examples of systemic racism; hence by doing so you implicitly acknowledge that the only form of “systemic racism” that exists today is in the form that I described, given that aside from slavery and Jim Crow, you had no other ready examples of offer.
Hello Chris! I have plenty of examples to offer! I listed a few examples of loopholes around the 13, 14, and 15th amendment that still impacts African Americans today. There are plenty of other things I can reference as well. I’m actually working on a larger project that really dives deep into it and I would hope that you would be interested in reading more about it! Acknowledging that people may go through disparities today as a result of laws built to make them not be able to assimilate in the past that haven’t been corrected doesn’t have to involve the Republican vs democratic debate, sometimes it just needs to involve the dignity of the human person and working towards how the dignity of that person in Christ can be further illuminated. I think a lot of times the topic of racism gets caught up in the leftist vs far right debate, and both sides can feel pressure to affirm or deny it. If you affirm it you’re a liberal, if you deny it you are racist, etc. etc.
When it comes to the dignity of the human person it should be a matter of justice, honor, and respect first and foremost for God and his creation before it ever becomes a matter of politics.
I don’t drink coffee. Where is your 95% statistic from. Due even to CNN and FOX polls show 80% of blacks have no problem with police and do not want them defunded. They want more police. This has always been true. Remember Bill Clinton assuring a cop of every corner? 8 or 9 unarmed black have been shot by cops this year, in a nation of 337 million people. Hardly a daily massicure.
Internalized racism? No. Racism belongs to those who created it, remain cowardkly omplicit with its existence, and those who continue to practice it—White people.
Marginalized people in the United States, for example, can be prejudiced within their specific group or intraculturally.
Racism is the power to unleash one’s prejudices via codes, rules, regulations, policies, and laws as occurs in this country and bey cryond.
I think you may want to expand your thinking and research about how marginalized groups respond to racist behaviors that affect and impact their lives.
Hello Jacqueline!
Internalized racism isn’t to say that it’s not a product of systemic and personally mediated racism. Oftentimes it’s an effect of the other two being the causes. Besides that, I think we are talking about the same concept, maybe just wording it differently. I do appreciate your input, God bless!
Those “Anti-black southern political powers” the author mentioned? They have a name. The Democratic Party. Pro-slavery. Avid defenders of Jim Crow. Not just southerners. Common cause was made between northern liberals and Southern racists. That’s how the Democratic party attained and sustained dominance in the 20th century.
Aside from that the author might wish to broaden her understanding of “systemic racism”. In an era of racial quotas, set asides, identify politics; all of which to one extent or another are protected in law, we do have systemic racism, though it’s certainly not what the author assumes it to be. When those who have done nothing wrong whatsoever are made to suffer adverse consequences on account of their skin color: that’s racism. Systemic and very personal. And it’s deepening the racial divide in our nation. Not bridging it.
Hello Chris! From what I’m understanding, you don’t think Jim Crow Economics and Chattel slavery are systemic racism? Can you elaborate a bit on how you’d define what those two would be classified as in your worldview?
In regards to your comment about the Democrats, are you aware that with the civil rights acts in the 1960s, many of those democrats switched to the Republican Party and make that party up today? For a nice reference to research on that, see below!
https://press.princeton.edu/titles/4385.html
I’m looking forward to your response!
You also said this
“ When those who have done nothing wrong whatsoever are made to suffer adverse consequences on account of their skin color: that’s racism. Systemic and very personal. ”
Didn’t that happen to the African Americans during chattel slavery and the south during Jim Crow?
Briana effectively responded.
Systemic Racism is not only a political pejorative, it’s an outright lie utilized to control or cause person fear in people to speak. It’s became an excuse to riot, murder, loot and attempt to supplant capitalism with Marxism. On a deeper level, blaming people for the sins of their fathers is a blood liable and profound evil.
Progressive elites have stirred the pot of racism as a way to whip up votes since 2009 in the United States and set back race relations 70 years, while all the while ignoring and giving passes to the most virulent and openly racist progressive politician currently in the main stream, i.e. Joe Biden with his endless openly racist statements. One or two times is a gaff, a dozen times goes much deeper than gaff.
Somehow I can’t see Blood Liable and blaming a race of people for the sins of their fathers has anything to do with Christianity. And Godless Marxism has nothing whatsoever to do with our faith. Wherever Marxism or Progressivism rears it’s ugly head, millions of people die.. EVERY TIME. Even in the United States in the sterile operating room of Planned Parenthood, i.e. 63 Million and counting, dead American Babies, supported by American Progressives and American Progressive Catholics like Joe Biden and and every single Catholic on the Left side of the US House or Senate.
As to systemic racism, it seems the Democrats have thrown ML King under the bus in that “Judge a man by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin” do go that well with the contrived lie of “White Privilage”
Hello David! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I’d like to dialogue with you a little bit more on this topic. It’s a very sensitive and heated topic. I think a lot of times in today’s society we have the gut reaction to label something as liberal or conservative automatically. With the topic of racism, it’s a little more than just liberals vs conservatives. I am curious about something. Why do you think systemic racism is a lie? Isn’t it a historical fact? If you don’t think that chattel slavery and Jim Crow economics were systemic racism then what exactly would you classify it as? Your perspective is interesting so I’d like to learn what you think those two historical facts would be classified as if not systemic racism.
Another interesting thing that I noticed about your response was that it leaned heavily on emotions. For example, you spoke of systemic racism being used as a tool of “fear” and talked a bit about feelings of guilt. Is this something common that people experience when speaking of racism? I think if we set emotions aside and look at history objectively and logically then we can admit that systemic racism is historical and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean that you or anyone else is a bad person inherently.
Another topic I wanted to touch on with you is the politics of racism. I do agree with you that the Democrats use racism as a tool to garner votes, but i would take it a step further and say that republicans also use racism to garner votes, but using the opposite tactic. Have you ever heard of the Southern Strategy? It’s a historically used technique to garner votes from people who harbor racist tendencies. I think when we bring politics into it, it can get messy which is why. In regards to communism, are you aware that Dr. King himself was accused of being a communist despite speaking against it? His face was plastered onto billboards with communist propaganda everywhere in southern states. I think we should be careful not to lump an entire people into a political system, as things are much more nuanced in reality and broad sweeping generalizations don’t do justice to anyone at anytime. Last but not least, it’s fine to speak about abortion, but let’s not end with abortion! Let’s continue to speak out on all injustices done to people at every stage in life, from the womb to the tomb! That means that we should not set aside injustices done to any people regardless of race, age, or religion. We should be consistent with the pro life message. If you do a bit of research into Roe V wade you will see that Republicans actually enacted it. I don’t wish to touch into politics too much but I do wish to dialogue about our different perspectives and be a light to the world in Charity and love! I am looking forward to your response!
Xoxo,
Briana!
Drink less coffee. Or at least switch to decaf. And try to see where 95% of black people are coming from. No, they’re not Republicans. Find out why.
Thank you for this wonderful overview.
Thank you! God bless!