“Systemic Racism against People of Color”

Today, racism continues to exist in our world every single day. Discrimination based on race and
ethnicity takes many forms. Systemic racism is a form of racism that’s rooted within the supposed normalcy of
our society. It leads to continuing inequalities in education, housing, employment, wealth, and representation
for minorities. It assumes white superiority that celebrates and rewards them over some other cultures. Racism
is a pressing societal issue which affects millions of people across the world. Such prejudice against
marginalized groups stems from others’ fear and ignorance that allow uneducated and unaware people
condone it.

In order to understand the issue at large, it is best to discuss what white supremacy means. It is the
belief that white people are superior to other races and are the standard of all humanity. This stems from their
white nationalism and privileges, as well as colonialism. Ever since the 17th century, white people have
enjoyed privileges and opportunities compared to other groups, most especially in the economy and education.
For the white supremacists, they considered other racial and ethnic people as enemies, most commonly of
African descent, indigenous groups from America and Australia, and Jews. They belong in the “extreme right”
because of their right-wing political, social and religious movements. Most famous movements that originated
from this belief are from Nazi Germany with their persecution of the Jews and the Ku Klux Klan from the United
States. Both movements supported racial segregation and discrimination in extreme ways, such as violence
and murder.

White nationalism is a euphemism for white supremacy. It emphasizes defining a country or region by
white racial identity and seeks to promote the interests of whites exclusively, typically at the expense of people
of other backgrounds. White nationalists seek to ensure the survival of the white race and cultures. They
believe that they should remain the majority, as well as keep their political and economic dominance.

However, these kinds of beliefs and views are misguided and potentially dangerous. One of the most
deeply held modern white supremacist convictions is that is that the white race is “dying” due to growing
non-white communities and “forced assimilation.” They believe that miscegenation, multiculturalism,
immigration of nonwhites and low birthrates among whites are promoted as part of an attempted white
genocide. Though there’s evidence of the rise in immigration and birth rates among nonwhites, they are still
faced with many challenges that put them behind white people in many aspects in livelihood and education.

Data on social and economic welfare show differences between many persons of color and their white
counterparts. According to Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race,
Ethnicity, and the Economy, unemployment rates for African Americans at 6.5 percent, Latinos at 4.6 percent,
and Asian Americans at 3.2 percent are considerably higher than white workers at 3.1 percent. Growing
income inequality increasingly affects minorities. In the United States, median wealth for white households is
ten times greater than for black households, and eight times greater than for Hispanic households. Asian
Americans also have lower homeownership rates than whites. Many Asian households owe more debt than
whites due to the wealth inequality being greater. Minority homeownership rates fall behind their white
counterparts, yet research shows that minorities face extra burdens in getting approved for mortgages as
banks still regularly charge them higher rates than white home buyers even if they have the same credit. It
goes to show that the minorities aren’t “taking over” the population as these white nationalists insist, rather it’s
them who are struggling to get basic necessities because of inequalities that shouldn’t be allowed in the first
place.

Because of the injustices, the civil rights movement started in the 1940s until 1970s where many
marginalized groups championed for equality and peace. These included the Black Power Movement, the
Chicano Movement, and Asian American Movement. Slavery may have been abolished, but the same can’t be
said for the discrimination they have faced. They fought for equal rights and neo-imperialism, and demanded
the government and others to treat them fairly.

Unfortunately, the complex issues of racism rose up again because of the death of George Floyd last
May 2020. His and many other African Americans’ deaths sparked the Black Lives Matter movement which
has become a huge global controversy. Just as many people were in support of the lives lost because of police
brutality, there were people who retaliated. Some white people were insulted as they felt that black people’s
lives became more important than their own. What they misunderstand is that black people are protesting for
justice, but they’re not looking for revenge.

For racism to be eradicated, it is important to create information and education campaigns at national
and international levels on measures to combat it. This is a responsibility that the government must deal with,
as racism is deeply rooted into the country’s political and judicial system. In both governments and institutions,
they should develop political interests and strong legislations as well as social and economic policies to
redress racism. Schools and offices can adopt affirmative actions to ensure qualified people from different
racial and ethnic backgrounds are given equal opportunities and equally represented at all levels. It should also
entail making governments accountable for the existence of racism and the elimination of the root of racism.
Once people are informed, they can begin to pay attention to the racial discrimination, xenophobia, and other
intolerances towards nonwhites. The people can take advantage of the technology they have to increase
media coverage and public awareness.

Everyone should be held accountable for their actions. People should be given the chance to be equal,
with no one above or left behind. It takes time to unlearn the misconceptions and biases one has, but it is a
step towards true change. People of color don’t owe anyone to teach the long history of the injustices they’ve
faced; that is the allies’ duty to be educated. If they have the privilege of being white, then they should be in
arms with the minorities and help them lift their voices and be heard. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said,
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Editorial Cartoon