Structural Racism and Community Building - The Aspen Institute

Understanding precisely where and how we fit into a structural racism system requires
careful reflection. Demystifying the complex structures and arrangements that are a part
of our lives by locating ourselves in them is a critical first step in assessing our capabilities.
We might start out by asking ourselves simple questions that focus on different levels of
intervention, such as the following:
e In what ways do we—as individuals—accept the notion of the inherent “fairness of
the system,” that is, that American ideals of equal opportunity and meritocracy work
in much the same way for everyone? What mechanisms work to encourage the notion
that poor outcomes are the fault of unmotivated individuals, family break up, or the
culture of poverty, without connecting that information to broader structural factors?
Do we find ourselves making racial or cultural group generalizations, or allowing
such generalizations to go unchallenged?
e Where do we fit into, and help sustain, for instance, a media industry that
continually underrepresents or produces negative images of Americans of color?
e What role do social service, community development, or philanthropic organizations
play in the maintenance of racial inequality? Do programmatic and funding priorities
that focus only on remediating racial inequities distract us from the need to address
the sources of such inequities? What role do we expect employment initiatives to
play in a private sector that keeps African Americans and Latinos at the vulnerable
end of the workforce? What role do we expect schools to play in a public education
system that underinvests in our poorest children and our children of color?
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