Racism is deep-rooted in society due to many years of segregation based on color and background. Systematic racism goes deeper when racism finds its way into private and public institutions. Institutions of learning create the base of educated citizens who value every individual regardless of race.
Unfortunately, recent research identified institutions of learning as primary breeding grounds of racism. The good news is – there is a spirited effort to root out this vice and make schools racism-free.
What is systematic racism?
Systematic racism touches every level of institutions and defines the way different citizens are treated based on race. The US is a multiracial nation with the main races identified as White, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Hawaiian.
Every institution should give equal opportunity to all these races without discrimination. When institutions like the financial institutions, security, health, manufacturing, and education hire, promote their staff or pays remuneration based on race, this vice is defined as systematic racism. This is racism that goes beyond societies and gets embedded into the institutions.
Systematic racism is deep in the minds of its perpetrators and starts early at the preschool level. The school is a place of learning and children learn more through observation. They can subconsciously note how the teacher treats kids of different races and the number of teachers at the school who are white, black, Asian, and so on.
The challenge of racism has not spared institutions of learning, starting from preschools to the most established universities. There are many ways college students can help fight racism and one of them is essay writing and books that will help other students learn about the challenge and take action. If a student wants inspiring essay examples on racism, they can visit Samplius.com and study the many essay examples there for inspiration. This is one writing service that has thousands of studying resources for both college and university students more than any other online essay service.
How systemic racism emerges in various fields of education
Systematic racism in the education system began from the time these institutions were established after America’s independence. The nation established an educational system that didn’t give every citizen an equal share. The native Indians and the African-American communities were the most affected.
Education was set as the gateway to a bright future, yet the doors to access education were open to some races while others were locked out. The government employed more white teachers in the basic education school and almost none of the other races. Recent studies show children of color suffer greater bias from white teachers and even get punished at least 50% of the time.
The situation doesn’t get better in college and university if you look at the rate of enrollment between white students and students of color. More than 50 percent of white students get enrolled in colleges and universities, while all other races share less than 50 percent.
How are educational institutions dealing with the problems of racism?
In the last ten years, a lot of changes are taking place in the institutions of learning as teachers, district leaders, school principals, and many other stakeholders realized that something has to be done. Since then, they have put spirited efforts to help fight systematic racism in the institutions of learning.
Many educators published anti-racism books and begun to involve students in forums that discussed racism and how to root it out. The curriculum is today more receptive to open discussions that promote the fight against racism.
Despite these efforts, a lot is yet to be accomplished, like training teachers on anti-racism, having an official anti-racist curriculum, and right policies to govern institutions of learning. Most white teachers are yet to fully embrace the change, although there are significant strides already made.
Which organizations are helping fight systematic racism in educational institutions
The embedment of systematic racism in educational institutions must be fought against at all institutional levels from the public, private, NGO, and educational institutions. Today, there are major institutions across the board helping fight racism. They are drawn from the business community, charitable organizations, activists, and international organizations.
At the forefront have been Black Lives Matter founded in 2013. A core belief by the organization is that the liberation of everyone is intertwined with one another and no one will ever be truly free until everyone else is free. Live Free USA is another organization that works closely with the clergy to campaign against gun violence and jail incarcerations.
How students themselves deal with racism?
Younger kids in junior schools are curious and innocently ask many questions about racism. They want to know why their skin is of this color and not like a neighbor’s kid. If these questions are not answered correctly, the kids go through school and into colleges/universities without concrete answers and full of internal biases.
The problem is deep-rooted in students, although due to anti-racism forums, many students are now realizing the negative effect the answered questions have in their lives many years after preschool. Many have begun to identify their biases and deal with them at a personal level. In many schools, student leadership is more inclusive today and they air their grievances as one unit of leadership.
How is the government helping fight racism?
Due to activism and laws, the government is helping fight against systematic racism from the national level and the state level. Some state governments have already begun increasing funding to local municipalities to help improve the lives of people of color at the community and school level.
At the national level, the current President Biden administration has already issued a memo that condemns racism and issued orders to ensure racism is dealt with firmly. This order covers all government institutions and educational institutions are included.
The president issued an executive order for the national government to pursue an exhaustive approach that will advance equity for all citizens and create equal opportunities for all, especially the historically underserved.
Conclusion
The challenge of systematic racism in the US institutions is historical and dates back to the time of slavery. For over two hundred years post-independence, the challenge is yet to be rooted out and it seems like the norm. Educational institutions have been most affected, although the government, activists, business community, and many other organizations are actively fighting against the vice. The fight is far from over but the current positive actions are a sign that the vice will soon be over.
Kim Marks 
Nina Smith 
Lana