Category: Micro Moments

This is a great question! Because systemic racism does not always have an identifiable, individual perpetrator, it lives in an organization in its policies, practices, and procedures that work to keep the status quo and to benefit Whites. Here are some questions you can ask to explore how your organization is addressing and eradicating systemic racism:

1. Executive Leadership: What is the racial make-up of the senior leadership team and the board of the organization? Are there People of Color, particularly Blacks, in roles outside of Human Resources and the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer?
2. Culture of Impact vs Culture of Fit: Are the hiring and promotion practices focused on creating a culture of fit designed around who can get along best with the current administration and who fits the existing organizational culture… or do the hiring and promotion practices focus on building a culture of impact by hiring those who are aligned with the organization’s current needs and who can best achieve the mission and meet the business objectives?
3. Accountability: What measures are in place to ensure that equity goals are being achieved? Are there any consequences for not meeting stated goals?
4. Transparency: Are policies openly known and understood, visible and communicated to everyone, and consistently applied to every employee?
5. Responsiveness: When a racially-charged complaint is made, are the investigators knowledgeable and competent in managing racial dynamics? How is their competency determined and evaluated? What are the number of complaints of racism? Are these tracked? How are complainants protected?
6. Education: Does the organization have specific antiracism training for leadership and training that is available to the entire workforce?
7. Resources: What financial resources are being devoted to achieving racial equity within the organization and within the communities that the organization serves?
8. Approach: Are Blacks and other People of Color experienced as the problem or as problem solvers? Are racial differences treated as a threat to be feared, or is everyone engaged with learning how to build the competencies necessary to leverage racial differences to enhance productivity and creativity? Are Whites engaged, supported, and encouraged to do their own racial identity work and explore their race’s impact on their thinking, behavior, decision-making and governance within the organization?
9. Sustainability: Does the work and investment on racial equity extend beyond a written communication and company statement? Is racial equity specifically named and included in strategic plans? What organizational structures are in place to support sustainability?

Discussion Highlights

Readers appreciated the practical guidance for organizational leaders to address systemic racism, highlighting the importance of representation, transparency, and structural changes. Emphasis was placed on meaningful action beyond surface-level initiatives.

“This is a great guide for companies and organizations to follow to make sure they are making tangible efforts towards equity and inclusion and ensuring that they are making a difference beyond ‘cute’ marketing campaigns. I’m really glad you mentioned the importance of representation and the need to continuously maintain the structural and cultural changes. There is always more work to be done!” — Raven Bailey

“Good points! I think transparency and also making sure everyone is aware of the goals and have a common language to talk about it is very important. For #1, I think this is tricky for many companies because even though a company is really committed to ED&I, it doesn’t mean you can randomly fire a senior management person just because he/she is white. I think placing POC in leadership position is absolutely important, but that takes time and planning. One recommendation I learned from my recent reading is to shift the focus to building up ‘diversity in the internal talent pipeline…(which) can keep offering top talent and replenishing it as it inevitably moves on.’” — Pricilla Cheung

“Great point…it is not just about representation but how does that representation fundamentally change how the organization practices for the good of the whole and achieving its mission and driving business objectives.” — Deborah L Plummer

It is first important to understand that there are many form of racism (see isms matrix completed) and intentionally calling Covid19 the China Virus is a modern form of racism. Modern forms of racism are far more nuanced and layered than traditional forms such as the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville; however, the negative impact on the targeted population is the same. The World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control and Prevention have repeatedly encouraged people to call the disease by its scientific name, Covid19. Calling it the “China Virus” breeds xenophobia and and has a real impact on Asian Americans harming their psychological and physical safety. For more context and background, check out Facing History and Ourselves resources for educators.

Discussion Highlights

Readers highlighted how naming the virus after a geographic or ethnic group contributes to xenophobia and harms Asian communities. Comments focus on the broader implications of language and its real-world impact on safety and social perception.

“I think it is called ‘Chinese virus’ not so much ‘China virus’ which presents a greater problem. China is a country name, one can argue that the virus comes from that geographic place, which I do not agree a virus should be named according to a place. However ‘Chinese’ means SO MUCH more – the Chinese language, ethnically Chinese people, which include Hongkongers, Taiwanese, Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Singaporeans, Chinese American, etc. Which is not fair to these people who have zero association with the virus itself and where the virus was first found. I myself as an ethnically-Chinese Hongkonger-American am deeply impacted by this label. I was talking with a friend who is 100% Japanese living in Japan, she also said she felt so unfair that all other Asians got pulled into this for no reason. She even said she was afraid to travel again even after corona, not know how people in Western countries would react to her Asian face.” — Pricilla Cheung

Let’s be clear: America is not a racist country in its values and aspirations. However, in U.S. policies, practices, and in the lived experience of BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) systemic racism is alive and thriving.

White Supremacy remains the greatest domestic terrorist threat. Systemic racism accounts for disparities in our criminal justice system; education curricula and disciplinary practices; housing segregation; voting suppression; healthcare access, treatment and outcomes; wealth creation; talent recruitment, retention and promotion patterns in organizations; and in stereotypes and controlling images in the media.

Do not be confused by the political rhetoric of “America is not a racist nation” even when it comes from a Black man who defines racism in limited terms to make it fit a political agenda. Racism in its many forms exists in the U.S. and is being actively eradicated by legions of Americans striving to be effective Antiracist and work toward that union of purpose. Be clear which side you are on: denying racism’s existence and thereby perpetuating it, or working to eradicate racism and making a better nation for us all.

The short answer is yes…but there’s a nuanced difference in the expression of racism for Blacks than there is for Whites. In our current racialized society, anyone who holds ideas or who practices behaviors or who promotes policies that intentionally benefit one racial group over others and who perpetuates racial group inequity would be racist. In the U.S., Whites benefit from how our systems such as employment, criminal justice system, healthcare, wealth creation, housing, and education are designed; and Blacks, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) are disadvantaged. Whites, in their collective social group identity, created the social, economic and political systems that are inherently racist and that still exist today.

To the extent that a black person promotes policies that work to keep the status quo which are designed to strategically benefit Whites then they would be participating in perpetuating systemic racism and therefore racists. In sum, Blacks didn’t create the systemic racism but they can perpetuate it.

Discussion Highlights

Readers explored the nuances of racism as expressed by Black individuals within a system historically built to benefit Whites. The discussion emphasizes power dynamics, historical context, and the importance of holding all individuals accountable for perpetuating inequities.

“This is a really interesting perspective. I have often heard that black people can’t be racist due to a lack of power and an inability to oppress another group systemically. I wonder if there have been any studies done or historical documentation to show that black people have perpetuated racism against another group.” — Raven Bailey

“Ibram X. Kendi addresses this in his books on antiracism. He names a few powerful Black politicians from state to national levels that have benefited from and perpetuated the status quo and racist systems or policies. I’m going to get things wrong if I continue to try to quote him here because I don’t have the book in front of me, but the take away I understood that struck me from his perspective was that to say that Black people can’t be racist because they don’t have power, invalidates those BIPOC people who do hold power–and lets them off the hook in terms of working to change policy or systems…” — Kiersten Moore

Equity is a key contributor and foundational to fostering diversity and advancing inclusion. It refers to fairness of treatment according to one’s respective needs.  You may have heard of the golden rule where you treat others as you would want to be treated vs the platinum rule where you treat others the way they want to be treated by you.  Equity follows the platinum rule. As a result, equitable treatment does not always mean same treatment.  Treatment may be different, but should be equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities.  In the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) space, equity is most often focused on pay equity, health care equity, education equity, racial equity, social equity, and cultural equity.