Covert racism

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Covert racism is a form of racial discrimination that is disguised and subtle, rather than public or obvious. Concealed in the fabric of society, covert racism discriminates against individuals through often evasive or seemingly passive methods.^[1] Covert, racially biased decisions are often hidden or rationalized with an explanation that society is more willing to accept. These racial biases cause a variety of problems that work to empower the suppressors while diminishing the rights and powers of the oppressed. Covert racism often works subliminally, and often much of the discrimination is being done subconsciously.^[2] Sometimes, it originates instead in discrimination against poorer segments that simply happens to disproportionately affect individuals by race.

History in the U.S.[]

With the history of racial inequality in the United States, racism has long been an issue. The enslavement of millions of blacks along with the huge influx of immigrants throughout its history resulted in great diversity but also racial segregation. With the abolition of slavery, different forms of segregation were implemented, including Jim Crow laws and later American social and political structures which led to segregation within cities and the suburbanization of the working and middle class.^[3] As overt racial discrimination became illegal and less apparent, the idea of the nation homogenizing became popular. As the U.S. accepted more immigrants from different cultures, various "melting pots" of unity were seen to arise. Along with this, ideologies posited that every group of immigrants goes through the same discrimination. Many groups eventually assimilate, but racism still exists, often in different forms and to different degrees.^[4]

When black G.I.s returned home from the Vietnam War, they were denied the money promised to them to support their education and help them buy homes. While only 9.5% of soldiers serving in Vietnam were black, they comprised nearly 20% of front line troops, and 25% or more of airborne divisions. Black servicemen were twice as likely to re-enlist in the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force and three times as likely to re-enlist in the Army as their white counterparts, not for any sense of adventure, but because they found the monetary rewards to be promising and they were treated more equally.^[5]

Racially constructed barriers[]

In the 1950s, shortly after World War II, urban areas were overtly divided into blocks by race. Blocks occupied by minorities were close to toxic dumps, busy highways, and other undesirable locations throughout cities. Whites lived away from these areas and often realtors would not be able to show properties to whites within these areas. Landlords could choose to not rent apartments to certain minority groups, maintaining segregation. Until the late 1960s, the government sanctioned discrimination in housing markets by promulgating rules preventing blacks from receiving mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration.^[6] FHA loans, a Federal Mortgage programme, goes to the white majority and reaches few minorities. In a study done in Syracuse between 1996 and 2000, of the 2,169 FHA loans issued, only 29 (or 1.3 percent) went to predominantly minority neighborhoods, compared with 1,694 (or 78.1 percent) that went to white neighborhoods and 446 (or 20 percent) that went to integrated neighborhoods.^[7][8]

Mortgage discrimination played a significant part in the real estate bubble that popped during the later part of 2008. It was found that minorities were disproportionately steered by lenders into subprime loans.^[9] The division of neighborhoods into school districts that avoid integration and end up investing on the "whiteness" of their neighborhoods, and the resulting residential and social segregation of whites from blacks in the United States, creates a socialization process that limits whites' chances for developing meaningful relationships with blacks and other minorities. The wealthy also control some of these divisions, which results in the minorities being excluded due to the low levels of income in most minority neighborhoods. The segregation experienced by whites from blacks fosters segregated lifestyles and leads them to develop positive views about themselves and negative views about blacks.^[10] Many blacks and Latinos have been discriminated against when applying for jobs because of stereotypes about work ethic based on race, and having a name that sounds "black" can sometimes lead to that person being denied an interview.^[11] Minorities are less likely to obtain key information regarding job interviews and are often denied access to high-paying jobs.^[12]

Minorities are also denied access to a quality education.^[13] This is usually because many poor areas also predominantly consist of minorities. This means that there is often a lack of funding in schools. The levels of poverty and lack of educational opportunities perpetuate themselves, creating a vicious cycle. Racial stereotypes emerge and these populations are further disenfranchised by individuals who do not help or do not care.^[14] The new Civil Rights Project report from UCLA, dated January 2009, stated that schools are more segregated today than they were in the 1950s. Millions of non-white students are locked into "dropout factory" high schools, where huge percentages do not graduate, and few are well prepared for college or a future in the U.S. economy.^[15]

A majority of the prison population in the U.S. consists of racial minorities. According to the Center for American Progress, black men are approximately seven times more likely to be incarcerated than whites, and spend on average ten months longer in prison.^[16] Since the beating of Rodney King (1991) was videotaped and broadcast around the world, local and federal law enforcement agencies have opened investigations to determine whether or not there is a pattern of police brutality not only in Los Angeles but around the country.^[17]

Demographic differences in healthcare[]

In the United States, health disparities are well documented in ethnic minorities such as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics.^[18] When compared to whites, these minority groups have higher incidence of chronic diseases, higher mortality, and poorer health outcomes. Among the disease-specific examples of racial and ethnic disparities in the United States is the cancer incidence rate among African Americans, which is 25% higher than among whites.^[19] In addition, adult African Americans and Hispanics have approximately twice the risk as whites of developing diabetes. Minorities also have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality than whites.^[19] Caucasian Americans have much lower life expectancy than Asian Americans.^[20] A 2001 study found large racial differences exist in healthy life expectancy at lower levels of education.^[21]

Public spending is highly correlated with age; average per capita public spending for seniors was more than five times that for children ($6,921 versus $1,225). Average public spending for non-Hispanic blacks ($2,973) was slightly higher than that for whites ($2,675), while spending for Hispanics ($1,967) was significantly lower than the population average ($2,612). Total public spending is also strongly correlated with self-reported health status ($13,770 for those reporting "poor" health versus $1,279 for those reporting "excellent" health).^[22]

There is a great deal of research into inequalities in health care. In some cases, these inequalities are caused by income disparities that result in lack of health insurance and other barriers to receiving services.^[23] In other cases, inequalities in health care reflect a systemic bias in the way medical procedures and treatments are prescribed for different ethnic groups. Raj Bhopal writes that the history of racism in science and medicine shows that people and institutions behave according to the ethos of their times.^[24] Nancy Krieger wrote that racism underlies unexplained inequities in health care, including treatment for heart disease,^[25] kidney failure,^[26] bladder cancer,^[27] and pneumonia.^[28] Raj Bhopal writes that these inequalities have been documented in numerous studies. The consistent and repeated findings were that black Americans received less health care than white Americans, particularly when the care involved expensive new technology.^[29] A 2008 study has found that when minority and white patients use the same hospital, they are given the same standard of care.^[30][31]

See also[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Fredrickson, George M (1988). The arrogance of race: historical perspectives on slavery, racism, and social inequality. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0-8195-6217-3. George M. Fredrickson.
• Race Bending: "Mixed" Youth Practicing Strategic Racialization in California Race Talk Dilemma in an American School by Mica Pollock.
• Dei, George J. Sefa. 2007. Racists Beware: Uncovering Racial Politics in the Post Modern Society. Sense Pub.
• Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences Transnational Media Literacy Analytic Reflections on a Program With Latina Teens Lucila Vargas University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 2009 Denver University Law Review, Article: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Michelle Obama: Performing Gender, Race, and Class on the Campaign Trail
• Kleg, M. (1993). Hate, Prejudice, and Racism. Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Berreby, David. Sept./Oct. 2000. Race Counts. From "The Sciences".
• Brodkin, Karen. 1998. How Jews Became White Folks. Rutgers University Press.
• Coates, Rodney D. 2007. Covert Racism: Theories, Institutions. Brill Press.
• Dyer, Richard. 1994. White. Routledge.
• Gallagher, Charles A. 2003. Playing the White Ethnic Card: Using Ethnic Identity to Deny Contemporary Racism. Routledge.
• Lipsitz, George. 1998. The Possessive Investment in Whiteness. Temple University Press.
• Pierce, Chester M. (1970). "Offensive Mechanisms". In Floyd B. Barbour (ed.). The Black Seventies. Porter Sargent. OCLC 108950.
• Jared Taylor. 2004 Edition. Paved with Good Intentions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America