Institutional Racism

We have a president-elect who campaigned on ideas that made what was previously
socially unacceptable racism OK by everything from talking about mass deportations
and building walls to accepting endorsements from white nationalist groups. The threats
students are facing are often directly connected to his rallying cries and campaign
promises. I don't think that Trump created these feelings and the rage we see, but his
election normalized it and encouraged it
— Kimberly Griffin (Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles),
"Tensions, Protests, Incidents"
Under Title VI, all higher education institutions that receive federal funding must take
certain actions against incidents of racial discrimination that are deemed "sufficiently
serious" or which negatively impact a student's education. These actions include
investigating the incident, making efforts to stop the current and possible future
occurrence, and fixing the issues that have come about due to the incident. Similar to
Title VI, the Clery Act is another act that requires higher education institutions that
receive federal funding to have certain obligations regarding campus crime.
The main requirement is that these institutions must create an annual report that details
the crime that has taken place in the past three years on campuses and the efforts
made to stop it. These reports must be made available to all students and staff, which
allows for greater transparency about the existing crime on campuses.
Students across the nation have worked to end racial discrimination on campuses by
organizing and participating in protests. One of the most notable examples is that of the
2015-16 University of Missouri protests, which led to protests at 50 universities. Lists of
demands made by students at 80 American universities detailing what should be done
to combat racism on campuses have been collected by WeTheProtesters, an advocacy
group.
Impact on Faculty
Faculty of color face racism within institutions of higher education as they challenge
widely held beliefs regarding race relations in America. Structural inequality may be
ignored under the assumption that racism will disappear within its own time. Racism is
manifest in a variety of ways, including but not limited to, undervaluation of research,
unwritten rules and policies regarding the tenure process, and a lack of mentorship for
faculty of color. Women of color faculty are often caught within a double bind as they
face discrimination based on both race and gender.
Faculty members at institutions of higher education are predominantly white, with faculty
of color constituting roughly 17% of total faculty, with 7.5% Asian, 5.5% Black, 3.5%
Latino, and 0.5% American Indian (see chart). Failure to fully implement affirmative
action is identified as another contributing factor to low numbers of representation.
Page 42 of 250