1. RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY Response to STRUCTURAL RACISM   Lois J. Carson   Don Mathis

2. RACIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY Participating Agencies
funded by the Ford Foundation
Participating Agencies
Wisconsin
Social Development Commission
Milwaukee, WI
Georgia
New York
Action for a Better Community
Rochester, NY
Fulton Atlanta Community
Action Authority
Atlanta, GA
Mississippi
Bolivar County Community Action Program
Cleveland, MS
New Mexico
Community Action New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM (statewide project)
Florida
Northeast Florida Community
Action Agency
Jacksonville, FL
Kentucky
Community Action Council for
Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon,
Harrison and Nicholas Counties
Lexington, KY
California
Community Action Partnership
of Riverside County
Riverside, CA

3. STRUCTURAL RACISM

4. Disparate Outcomes Poverty
Poverty Level for family of 4: $18,100 (US Dept of HHS, 2002)

5. Educational Attainment
Disparate outcomes
Educational Attainment
Source: The Education Trust, 2002

6. Disparate Outcomes Justice System
Adult Population and Proportion Incarcerated
in State and Federal Prisons, 2002
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin. “Prisoners in 2002” U.S. Department of Justice, July 2003; U.S. Census Bureau.

7. We are still struggling over the meanings of race and equality
Why are “race” and “racism” such difficult issues to grasp and deal with?
We are still struggling over the meanings of race and equality
We often fail to acknowledge the ways that RACE has been a fundamental axis of social organization in the US
We often prefer to address symptoms rather than the roots of social problems
We are often reluctant to acknowledge
the legacies of race
They resonate with our deeply held beliefs about
“success” and “failure”
We are generally more comfortable discussing
issues of Class and Gender

8. What is race and how do we understand it?
Social construct
No biological or scientific basis behind it
Best understood in social and political terms
Meaning it was invented and given meaning by humans. 2) it is a yardstick for allocating power, and for distributing society’s material benefits and burdens. 3) As noted in the Archives of pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (feb 2001): “One of the great contributions of the human genome project is to point out the incredible biological similarity of us all: there is a greater range of genetic differences within such groups as white or black than between groups. There is no biologic or scientific basis for the term race much less the categories commonly used to describe it. After this, refer the group to the quote in the book re: race is a social construct and show the clip from race the power of an illusion

9. Leaders who work on racial equity need…
A language to talk about race
A framework for understanding how race and ethnicity operate in modern America (post-civil rights legislation)
New ideas and strategies for reducing racial inequities in key opportunity domains and promoting racial equity
We need to be as comfortable talking about race as we are about class and gender. And we need to examine the factors that contribute to disparities, the factors that are likely to lead to positive change, and the factors that work to resist such change. The Roundtable started our work on Structural Racism and Racial Equity in 1998 in response to people in the community building field telling us that even though they worked in largely communities of color, they needed help talking about race. ---angela blackwell/john gardner (common cause); thernstroms and Randall Robinson…

10. New Language We need to identify and talk about:
The ongoing advantages associated with being" white” – sometimes referred to as a white privilege
and
The ongoing disadvantages associated with being a person of “color”—which we refer to as structural racism

11. How is Structural Racism Different?
Common explanations of entrenched
racial and/or ethnic disparity
Individual
Institutional
Structural

12. Racism at the individual or inter-group level:
Personal prejudice
Racial slurs, the n-word
Inter-group tensions
Diversity and multi-culturalism
Cultural competence
…these are important, and these personal attitudes and beliefs color decision-making and actions

13. institutional and structural levels
The bigger problem …
Racism at the
institutional and structural levels

14. Institutional Racism Education Employment Health Housing Criminal
Justice
Environment

15. Institutional Racism For example:
Discriminatory practices (whether intentional or not)
Racial profiling
Redlining or “steering”
Occupational segregation

16. Institutional Racism: A Systems Perspective
Education
Employment
Health
Housing
Criminal
Justice
Environment

17. 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.

18. Structural Racism Values History Beliefs Attitudes Education
Employment
Health
Beliefs
Attitudes
Housing
Criminal
Justice
Environment

19. 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.”

20. Contents of the Knapsack:
I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live, and I can be pretty sure that my neighbors will be neutral or pleasant to me.
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.
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.

21. Contents of the Knapsack:
I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.
I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.
If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.
I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.

22. What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
It means four types of changes in the way we work:
Internal change
Policy change
Practice change
Cultural/representational change

23. What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Internal” change,
accepting and establishing racial equity as a central tenet
and operating principle in our work to improve outcomes for youth and 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
In your in your work and in your organization. We believe it is important to align your internal work policies and practices with your external work so that the theme of racial equity is consistent. On Wednesday we’ll have an opportunity to talk about racial equity and inclusion within our work environment.

24. What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“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, opportunities within your organization and outside your organization by examining its programs and alliances

25. What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Practice” change,
focusing carefully on all of the ways in which standard practices reproduce – or fail to counteract – racially disparate outcomes
For example by critically examining 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.)

26. What does the Structural Racism Framework
mean for people who want to reduce inequalities?
“Cultural” or “representational” change,
reframing and changing stereotypical messages, images and interpretations of information about people of color
For example, by challenging the assumptions that employees, board members, policymakers, and 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
Citizens broadly defined—civic community, media, employers, teachers…

27. END

28. Riverside County REES Project

29. SUB-COMMITTEES Technical Advisory to eliminate Racial Disparity
in the provision
and access to
Quality Child Care
Policy Advisory to establish the rules of engagement for the “Big View” Meetings and Community Dialogues

30. BIG VIEW MEETINGS
Human Rights Commission Human Relations Council Human Relations Commission
City of Palm Springs of City of Riverside
Hemet- San Jacinto-Menifee
May TBA TBA
To be followed with dialogues at Colleges/Universities, In Churches and other Venues

31. Code of Conduct LET US TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT
LET US KEEP AN OPEN MIND
LET US SEARCH FOR CONSENSUS
LET US NOT INTERRUPT OTHERS
LET US STRIVE FOR HONESTY
LET US REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ATTACKS
LET US SHARE PERSONAL STORIES FOR ENLIGHTENMENT
LET US SEARCH FOR NEW WAYS TO DISCUSS RACE INTELLECTUALLY
LET US RECRUIT GROUPS TO HOST A BIG VIEW MEETING

32. Racial Equity and Economic Security
Question for Round Table Discussion
STRUCTURAL RACISM
Racial Equity and Economic Security
Describe Structural Racism in their own words and would help to make them more confident about sharing their knowledge.