How Systemic Racism and Implicit Bias Affects African Americans

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

People need housing, food, healthcare, and security first.

 

It's as true then as it is now. Poverty is not the absence of character, it's the absence of cash. The only way to get people out of positions where they can be exploited (this includes discrimination/racism btw) is with money.

What do you mean by this? Recipients of what? They're certainly the hardest hit, largely because they don't have the resources to prepare for, withstand, and recover from such devastation.

We can disagree on the levels of ad hoc racism floating around in the air at any given time or place, but what I won't budge on is the idea that resources like cash are the #1 cure toward curbing the arc of racism in general downwards and lifting minorities up.

I'd be pretty terrified if the government started mandating who could or will live somewhere too. That's a huge overreach.

 

Character is subjective though. Some people are already trying to impugn George Floyd's character through his pre-minny criminal record and the drugs found in his blood stream. It's that same attitude that incarcerates minorities through non-violent drug offenses.

If you want to twist definitions even further, by treating money as a proxy for character, look at white collar crime, how it's hard to prosecute against it and where people land up when convicted.

I do get the "bootstrap" ethic. My point isn't to wait for communist handouts, but rather the systemic flaws that prevent people from raising their bootstraps. Or bigots hiding behind rules that we treat as air.

Take the coronavirus numbers. It's not only because some black people can't be treated due to resources, it's also because healthcare officials have a bias against treating minorities properly. It ranges from drugs to preconceived ideas of pain tolerance.
https://www.vox.com/2020/6/2/212779...ple-covid-19-testing-treatment-medical-racism
https://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2018/5/24/17389742/american-health-care-racism

It's not a matter of resource poverty. The cracks inherent in the system drive deeper when the system is stressed. Given I'm a bank owner, and I have 5 houses to foreclose, shortsell, or renegotiate...what are the risks?

You might think it's a resource or a non-deterministic issue, computer scientists and data analysts have as well. That "color blindness" is causing a lot of impacts in their ML algorithms.
https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/01/race...telligence-machines-learning-racist-12478025/
High-tech redlining: AI is quietly upgrading institutional racism
Microsoft researchers say NLP bias studies must consider role of social hierarchies like racism

We are all trying on the surface, but the Devil is in the details. It's more abstract when you are the beneficiary, and like an addiction, it will cause people to fight tooth and nail for those benefits, even with the argument of "fairness".

And back to the Bannon and Millerites. I bet they can tell you what they think about the Obamas hosting WH events with mostly Black people, who's individual net worths exceed all the members on this board.

 

That video makes a false statement, by the way. Often times the MOST funded schools are those in minority areas. In Texas, "Robin Hood" laws give most of the wealthy district money to underfunded schools. We spend more per student in those districts already. MONEY is NOT as much of a factor in those situations as this video would have you believe. In "underfunded' schools, often times we're talking maybe 5-10% difference, which is not nearly enough to account for the discrepancy in education.

There are so many shades of grey in this discussion that Twitter, Facebook, and Political talking points don't take into account. "Systematic" racism, I believe, comes down to a few things:

• Real, actual racism, which I personally (and maybe naively) believe is one of the smallest factors. As older generations age, and younger people grow older, it slowly gets squeezed out of the system. "Black people bad" is a failing thought process.
• Money...lack of capital for a variety of reasons such as bad/lack of credit (can we educate lower income minorities on the importance of maintaining credit?), poverty, etc.
• Location: if you're black and born in a safe suburb (even if poor) you're more likely to succeed than if you're born into South Chicago. You'll probably go to a safe school, and you'll be exposed to people that care about success. Lack of mobility is a big factor and is tied to money. Nothing in the constitution says you have to live in South Chicago or South/Central LA. In theory, you could pack up your car and move to Podunk, West Texas and be away from the things that keep you from getting educated. Is it money? Sense of culture? Family? Who knows, but I think a lot of non-minority America is more willing to relocate for a job or opportunity.
• Education: this is NOT a money thing, in my opinion. The worst performing, high minority schools tend to get the MOST money. The "bang for your buck" is not there. I think this is more related to worse teachers...or teachers that get burned out due to risk and apathy of the students and the next things:
• Family. Higher rates of single parent homes, lack of positive male influence. Divorce rates are up in the US, and we have divorced parents, but co-parenting can work (even though its hard). A single parent household is really tough. Mom (or Dad I guess) might be working all day, or may be so young, they don't have the baseline means to raise kids. It turns into a cycle.
• Culture. I think we can't discount the subculture in many (not all) minority households that just doesn't value education or work. If you are raised by your parents to "hustle" to make a living, or you have to do it because your parents don't value education or work, then you're SOL. How do you escape that trap if you're some young kid with parents that are themselves "hustlers" and wouldn't even know how to make sure your college essays are complete, or how to apply to a real company. Quite frankly, this also applies to crime/drugs/gangs. Those things are "normal", so if you're raised in that, you're going to grow up and do those things.
• Welfare. We've done it. As a society, we've created a class of people that Welfare IS the income standard. All the various government safety nets (that I believe SHOULD exist, by the way) have created a culture where that's "enough". More kids? No problem? Rent? Mostly covered. Cash? We'll just get ourselves declared disabled. Nowhere in there is: job training, work counsels, adult education...
• Illiteracy. This one is not mentioned much and applies a little to education. A larger than expected set of minorities in this country are basically illiterate. You're doomed. This one hits close to home due to my personal involvement in Barbara Bush's charity efforts. Its sort of shocking in this day and age that there are people that while they can read a street sign, can't read and understand a newspaper article or a book. There are levels of illiteracy, and its a problem.
• Technology: lack of access or training in technology is the newest (and I think biggest) cause. If you're raised with XBOX's, PCs, Laptops, Ipads, Iphones...AND YOUR PARENTS are technically literate...you're going to succeed on some level in society. If the first time you log onto the internet is in school in a computer lab...you're already at a disadvantage. Our internet was down for 3 hours this morning and I was useless. Imagine if that's your life.

I think we have to get to the kids. We, as a society, need to somehow shift the definition of success for black kids. IT, Engineering, Math, Science, Accounting, Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance...basic understanding of credit, taxes, personal finances. An understanding of how to build up to pay a down payment for a house, how to own a home, how to make a mortgage payment. HOME OWNSERHIP is key. Education is key.

How do we get black kids out of the welfare "hustle" trap, and get them coding, get them starting businesses, get them into big corporations to work their way up.

I've worked for 4 Fortune 50 companies. They are desperate for black workers. They hire them, promote them, OPENLY BEG for candidates. The problem: there just aren't that many black coders, finance and accounting people, petro-technical people, engineers. If you're black (and a woman) you WILL get hired if you have even basic work ethic and skills. How do we lift up kids to those basic levels so the corporations can start pushing them up?

 

Implicit bias is more powerful than people realize. Google any article about online dating and you will see the numbers are skewed that blacks, especially black women get the least matches. As a white guy on Match a few years ago I can tell you profiles would many times not have black under racial preference but the vast majority despite their race would always have Caucasian.

That view of what we find attractive matters because studies also show people who are seen as more attractive also get more opportunities for jobs.

Blame it on music, movies, these riots, growing up with parents who say you’d better not bring home a person of color or whatever but there is a degree of distaste for blacks in America for some people. The “angry black woman” stereotype for example persists.

How do you get over it? As mentioned before time. The more positive interactions and relationships people have with those different than them the more those biases go away.

 

This is exactly the situation. When these riots happened MN was starting to open. Monday was the first day that restaurants could actually do table service (has to be outside seating) again. One of my favorite tacqueirias had just finished a remodel (that started before COVID-19) and had started serving again. I don't know if they are still there.

It's been great seeing the outpouring of support including from Clutchfans but it's going to take years to recovery.

 

I think you're discounting a little bit of natural human nature and instincts. Some of this can be chalked up to genetic selection to find people that look like you more attractive, perhaps. We can't legislate out all natural instincts.

 

This is just flat out false.



That map shows the funding per student data per district. Notice the red is mostly in southern poor urban Black/Hispanic districts with lower property tax values.

Blaming welfare is stupid.

 

What kids don't have these things?

Poor people have better healthcare than you since before Obamacare.

 

What?

 

You never heard of Medicaid or CHIP?

 

I have.

 

Well educate yourself further

 

Medicaid is for the ultra poor. It leaves out so many families who have to resort to either no health insurance or cheap plans with absurd deductibles to the point that the family would be afraid to ever use their healthcare especially in states that didn't decide to expand these programs.

 

That's why kids have CHIP. A lot qualify for that

 

That's not nearly enough. CHIP might insure the child but what about the parents? That healthcare cost for the parents effects the children as it effects the overall household budget and the health of the parents or parent.

 

Are you seriously suggesting there aren't kids who lack these resources in adequate measure?

Are you out of your mind?

 

4.3 million Americans children don't have any healthcare coverage. I'm going to assume they are disproportionately in these poor urban communties.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/uninsured-rate-for-children-in-2018.html

 

We don't let kids go hungry (food stamps)

Go without education (public school)

Go without healthcare (CHIP)

Go without shelter (housing)

And we really don't. Adequate is a subjective term. Without is definite