USA Today, June 15, 2020: What is systemic racism? Here’s what it means and how you can help dismantle it
Civil rights leaders and advocates are demanding an end to systemic racism, a reference to the systems in place which create and maintain racial inequality in nearly every facet of life for people of color.
In the past two weeks, thousands have taken to the streets in the wake of George Floyd’s death to demand an end to police brutality and racism. At the same time, the coronavirus pandemic, which disproportionally affects African Americans in communities across the country, continues to spread.
“This is not about one incident,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “This is about the systemic and pervasive nature of racism in this nation that must be addressed.”
Redlining was banned in 1968, but the areas deemed “hazardous” by the federal Home Owners’ Loan Corp. from 1935 to 1939 are still much more likely than other areas to be home to lower-income, minority residents, a 2018 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found.
