In the past weeks, riots and protests have rippled across the nation in an effort to secure the equality that this country has struggled with for decades. At the forefront is the issue of police brutality, but the root of it lies the unresolved structural racism that persists in America to this day. Here are a few ways that racism continues to manifest in America’s infrastructure:

1. COVID-19 - If you read the Ballot Buzz last week, you are already well aware of the disproportionate amount of COVID-19 care centers in predominantly Black and Hispanic areas. Consequently, according to NPR, the death toll of African Americans is almost double what would be predicted by their share of the population. The University of Michigan furthers that the disproportionate amount of deaths can be accredited to pre-pandemic conditions, such as lower median income or lack of access to adequate healthcare. The inadequacy of healthcare in many black neighborhoods is no coincidence. It is a direct result of racial redlining, a manifestation of residual racial and economic segregation. This leads to “minority serving” hospitals, which often have less access to technology and funding.
2. Healthcare - Even when people of color have access to decent healthcare, the system is still working against them. As mortality rates in our country have decreased, the gap between mortality rates of Black Americans and White Americans has increased. Along with the internal bias of many medical practitioners, the healthcare policies of today continue to cause damage as they are rooted in the economic inequalities of past and present. The most prominent example of this is Medicaid, which disproportionately benefits minority groups due to past and present economic oppression. However during Trump’s administration, he passed policies which allowed states to request funding to support programs that require engagement in the workforce as a prerequisite to receiving Medicaid benefits passed. This is not just a blatant violation of the idea of health care as a human right, but also inordinately affects minorities.
3. Criminal Justice - Black people constitute more than 1/3 the population in state and federal prisons, nearly three times their representation in politics. This racial bias of the criminal justice system has its roots as far back as the Jim Crow Era, from where our current system was mostly built and refined. From racial profiling to policing, institutions treat people of color extremely different and it carries serious consequences. Even after a black person has gone through the justice system and served time, they are far more likely to carry consequences throughout their lifetime due to their incarceration. With racially biased law enforcement and judges, it seems that the judicial system does everything but actually serve justice.

These are only a few ways that black people are at a disadvantage when it comes to America’s infrastructure. What many excuse as simple ignorance carries harmful consequences to thousands in our country’s system. If we continue to ignore all the ways racism manifests in our government, we are effectively facilitating it. Take the time to educate yourself and actively work to dismantle the racism of our nation.