Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (pictured above) has been urged to resign after blatantly racist yearbook photographs of him surfaced. This situation serves as a reminder that racism has not been completely eradicated and still must be publicly condemned (Cotton Puryear/Creative Commons).
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam confirmed that he appeared in a racist yearbook photo depicting one person in blackface and another in the KKK’s unmistakable white hood on Feb. 1. Since then, Northam has apologized, but he still ignores consistent public calls for his resignation.
While it is critical to address racism like this, it is imperative it is not dismissed as something of the past or a matter of a few individuals apologizing for their behavior. Racism is just as prevalent of an issue today as it was 50 years ago; it just simply looks a little different.
For example, there is a massive wage gap between black and white families, and it only appears to be growing.
“Black families in America earn just $57.30 for every $100 in income earned by white families, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. For every $100 in white family wealth, black families hold just $5.04,” according to The New York Times.
This gap is not caused by some people working harder than others, as many like to claim.
“Banks targeted black and Latino homeowners with predatory lending and subprime mortgages, resulting in historic losses of black wealth with the Great Recession,” according to CNN.
Systemic racism isn’t just apparent as far as wealth goes either; it’s evident in the medical field as well. Black men and women are consistently under-treated for their pain, according to The Washington Post.
Researchers at the University of Virginia asked white medical students and residents about inaccurate and erroneous beliefs of differences between races.
“Those who held false beliefs often rated black patients’ pain as lower than that of white patients and made less appropriate recommendations about how they should be treated,” according to The Washington Post.
This harmful assumption is in no way based on fact, rather, it is clear evidence of the subtler form of racism the United States embodies today.
Perhaps most alarming about institutional racism is that it isn’t even surprising anymore. Following news of Northam’s yearbook picture, almost 60 percent of African Americans didn’t think he should resign, according to The Washington Post.
Instead of letting Northam and similar offenders off the hook, society needs to tackle the problem at its root. This begins with white Americans recognizing their privilege and using it in appropriate ways.
Perhaps this acknowledgement starts with education. While it sounds self-explanatory, educating people on how racism still appears in society and what the benefits of white privilege are may open the door for some long overdue, constructive conversations.
This being said, education is exactly where systemic racism is most prevalent. U.S. history, including the enslavement of millions of Africans, is not taught properly in American schools, according to CNN. In addition, civil rights and black history are often viewed as something only black people should know about.
Again, rather than glossing over institutional racism, it needs to be taken for what it is. “In a racist society it is not enough to be nonracist. We must be anti-racist,” political activist Angela Davis said, according to CNN.
Just as there was after the Civil War, there is work to be done. Instead of glossing over blatant racism and allowing it to take a new form, we must be consistent in our efforts to eradicate it completely.