Focusing On The Actions Of Individuals Seems Perfunctory

There’s a lot of talk about systemic racism lately. So in my article, The Racism Arms Race, I decided to focus on individuals.

I wrote about the unimaginable strength that helped Mamie Till turn her son’s murder into a lightning rod for the civil rights movement.

I wrote about James Baldwin and Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, who all understood that racism is a sickness of the human mind, not the product of a faceless system.

And I wrote about the role that all of us play in either fighting that sickness or making it worse. Patricia wasn’t ready for that discussion yet.

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Patricia:

I understand what you are trying to do here, but I would say it’s “missing the forest for the trees.” When the median wealth gap is 10x more for White people than for Black people, when Black people have a shorter life expectancy, when the unemployment for Black people is ALWAYS double that of White people, focusing on the actions of “individuals,” be they Black or White, seems perfunctory. It definitely ignores a long history of subjugation of non-white people in this country, and others.

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I wish I could begin this little aside by saying something like, “Nobody is pretending that racism no longer exists or has nothing to do with racial disparities…” but sadly that wouldn’t be true. It’s amazing how many people will argue that the impact of centuries of legally-enforced racism has been erased in less than 60 years.

But at the other extreme are people who argue that racism is the only explanation for racial disparity.

Racism is undeniably a cause of racial disparity in America. Especially for African Americans. But arguing that it’s the sole cause of all racial disparity is a recipe for eternal grievance. And worse, grievance that focuses our attention in the wrong places.

Racial disparities are not, in and of themselves, evidence of racism. They’re evidence of the truism that different groups are different.

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Steve QJ:

It's not that I don't see your point, I think I was clear that the discrimination currently being targeted at white people pales in comparison to what's happened to black people for generations (and still happens). But I don't understand this idea that the individual is meaningless compared to the societal.

Individuals vote. Individuals employ one another. Individuals interact with each other in ways that are positive or negative. Derek Chauvin is an individual. Dylann Roof is an individual. Martin Luther King was an individual.

The impact of racism isn't limited to individual behaviour. I think we'd agree on that. But that doesn't mean that we should never talk about or think about individual racism does it? You never know what will happen when you change an individual's mind for the better or, sometimes more importantly, for the worse.

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The idea that racism is always and only systemic is uniquely unhelpful. Not because systemic effects aren’t real, but because “systemic racism” is hopelessly vague.

Are we talking about wealth disparities? Okay. Let’s break them down by income level so our numbers aren’t skewed by multi-millionaires (this alone reduces the black/white wealth gap from 10x to ~4x). Let’s talk about education and infrastructure investments for poor children. Let’s tackle common obstacles to wealth generation like childcare costs and adult-learning programs and a lack of financial literacy.

Gaps in life expectancy? Let’s address the lower standards of healthcare found in Black and Hispanic neighbourhoods. Let’s figure out why people on lower incomes can’t afford to eat healthily. Let’s see whether there are environmental or genetic factors contributing to this issue.

Higher unemployment rates? First, let’s untangle this kafkaesque approach to calculating unemployment figures. Let’s educate companies on the benefits of blind recruitment. Let’s rethink employment barriers for people with criminal convictions and reduce dependence on low- or unskilled jobs where unemployment tends to be higher regardless of ethnicity.

And while we talk about all of this, let’s also talk about individuals. Let’s recognise that we can’t fix societal problems simply by throwing money at them. Let’s admit that people need to change their mindset and their habits and their self-belief if they hope to change their lives. Let’s ask ourselves if constantly telling them the system is against them will make it easier or harder for them to do this.

Racial inequality isn’t going to disappear overnight. However much we might want it to. There’s work to be done at the systemic and the individual level. But there’s a lot of talk about systemic racism lately. So maybe it’s time we focus on individuals.