Systemic Racism
“As a society we are always idolizing resiliency. The thing with resiliency is, it's the outcome of adversity. Sometimes, when we have to navigate adversities, that's because we're being dehumanized, marginalized, and oppressed.” - From a direct service provider focus group participant
Many providers and administrators said that racism still exists in the systems they work in. They talked about the need to understand our country’s history of oppression and to acknowledge that it has a lasting impact, even today. There was a strong desire to end systemic racism and to create new systems rooted in equity.
“The way that human beings treat one another, all of that is a by-product and a legacy of systemic oppression, of colonization, of Jim Crow, of slavery, of all of the stuff that has happened in the past. Without kind of a handle around that, I think it would have been very difficult for me to continue doing this work.” -From an administrator focus group participant
Call to Action & Connection to Other Topics
There is no simple solution to solving systemic racism. Focus group participants shared stories of experiencing systemic racism, but the ideas on how to solve it are closely connected to other root issues. The chart below shows how systemic racism relates to other commonly mentioned topics. The numbers show how often the topics were discussed together. To solve systemic racism, these topics must be addressed.
