GCAA 2010 Southeastern Colloquium On Racial Inequality and Poverty

GCAA 2010 SOUTHEASTERN COLLOQUIUM ON RACIAL INEQUALITY AND POVERTYKEYNOTE ADDRESS

john a. powellWilliams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law

Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

February 17, 2010 Atlanta, GA

Overview

Structural Racialization Types of Racism Structural and institutional arrangements Systemic Interactions

Opportunity Low and High Opportunity Communities Remedying Opportunity Isolation Opportunity Mapping in Atlanta, Georgia

Mind Science Explicit and Implicit Racism Unconscious Networks

Appendix

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Structural Racialization3

HATEFUL INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL EXPLICIT

CONSCIOUS

HATEFUL INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL EXPLICIT

CONSCIOUS

POST-RACIAL.

BEYOND RACE.

RACISM=DEAD.

POST-RACIAL.

BEYOND RACE.

RACISM=DEAD.

PRE OBAMA POST OBAMA4

Perceptions of Racism

Types of Racism

Individual

Institutional

Structural Racialization

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Individual Racism Institutional Racism

Recognized that racism need not be individualist or intentional

Institutional and cultural practices can perpetuate race inequality without relying on racist actors Jim Crow

Discrimination Model Victim/perpetrator Prejudice (bad

actor/ bad apple) Intent (purpose or

motive)

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Structural Racialization

How race works today There are still practices, cultural norms

and institutional arrangements that help create and maintain (disparate) racialized outcomes

Structural racialization addresses inter-institutional arrangements and interactions It refers to the ways in which the joint

operation of institutions produce racialized outcomes In this analysis, outcomes matter more than

intent

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Structural Racialization 8

Structural Racialization9

Adapted from the Aspen Roundtable on Community Change. “Structural Racism and Community Building.” June 2004

Contrasting Perspectives

Traditional Understanding {-}Traditional Understanding {-} Structural Understanding {+}Structural Understanding {+}

An independent-isolated-An independent-isolated-individual psychological individual psychological issueissue

An outcome that results from An outcome that results from interactivity of institutions & interactivity of institutions & actorsactors

De jureDe jure De factoDe facto

StaticStatic DynamicDynamic

Past, if present an anomalyPast, if present an anomaly PresentPresent

OvertOvert Overt and covertOvert and covert

IrrationalIrrational RationalRational

TautologicalTautological Non-tautological Non-tautological (multidimensional)(multidimensional)

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo (1997)Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo (1997)

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The Arrangement of Structures How we arrange structures matters

The order of the structures The timing of the interaction between them The relationships that exist between them

We must be aware of how structures are arranged in order to fully understand social phenomena

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Example: Structural Arrangements and Unemployment

Jobs are distributed through structures Most teachers are women Most construction workers are men

When unemployment rates change, we need to be conscious of how people are segregated into economic sectors

There are racial and gendered outcomes to these structural arrangements

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…Some people ride the “Up” escalator to reach opportunity

…Others have to run up the “Down” escalator to get there

The outcome of structural racialization is a highly uneven geography of opportunity…

Historic Government Role14

A series of mutually reinforcing federal policies across multiple domains have contributed to the disparities we see today School Desegregation

Suburbanization/ Homeownership

Urban Renewal

Public Housing

TransportationDisparities in how federal government invested in people and in places….

System Interactions15

Source: Barbara Reskin. http://faculty.uwashington.edu/reskin/

This historic exclusion is perpetuated through our institutions…

The Importance of Institutional Arrangements

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Structural Racialization 17

Structural racialization accounts for the cumulative effects of institutional arrangements

Structural racialization accounts for the cumulative effects of institutional arrangements

Causation is interactive between institutions

Causation is interactive between institutions

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Not only are people situated differently with regard to institutions, people are situated differently with regard to infrastructure.

Not only are people situated differently with regard to institutions, people are situated differently with regard to infrastructure.

People are impacted by the relationships between institutions and systems…

…but people also impact these relationships and can change the structure of the system.

People are impacted by the relationships between institutions and systems…

…but people also impact these relationships and can change the structure of the system.

Opportunity19

Source: Program for Environmental and Regional Equity

“the whole financial system has been rigged against lower income communities in general and communities of color in particular”

Landscape of the Present Environment

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“our financial system has a distinctly racial character, one that requires a response rooted in racial and social justice”

“our financial system has a distinctly racial character, one that requires a response rooted in racial and social justice”

Source: Program for Environmental and Regional Equity

“If we are going to turn the financial industry back into something that benefits the consumer … WE HAVE TO SHIFT THE UNDERLYING BALANCE OF POWER”

Tackling the Pressing Issues …

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New Challenges: The Foreclosure Epidemic

The foreclosure problem is really a credit problem From redlining to reverse redlining The impacts More to come?

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23Source: Duda, Mark and William Apgar. 2005. “Mortgage Foreclosures in Atlanta: Patterns and Policy Issues”

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The Impact of Concentrated Foreclosures in a NeighborhoodThe Impact of Concentrated Foreclosures in a Neighborhood

Foreclosures pull wealth/equity and assets out of the neighborhood

Widespread displacement of renters, homeowners which rips the neighborhood’s social fabric and creates instability for school age children

The growth of vacant property encourages crime, disinvestment and public safety risks

Challenges which eventually ensnare all residents (even those who were never foreclosed upon)

Foreclosures pull wealth/equity and assets out of the neighborhood

Widespread displacement of renters, homeowners which rips the neighborhood’s social fabric and creates instability for school age children

The growth of vacant property encourages crime, disinvestment and public safety risks

Challenges which eventually ensnare all residents (even those who were never foreclosed upon)

Opportunity

We can define opportunity through access

Opportunity includes access to Healthcare Education Employment Services Healthy food

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Living in Low-Opportunity

Reduces IQ points of students by 4 points, equivalent to one year of school (Sampson 2007)

Generates unhealthy levels of stress hormones in children, which impairs their neural development

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Living in Low-Opportunity

Correlates with children having levels of lead in their blood 9 times above the average; high levels of lead linked to ADD and irreversible loss of cognitive functioning

Links to higher levels of violent offending among juveniles

Is highly correlated with childhood aggression and social maladjustment

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A Tale of High and Low Opportunity Structures

Less than 25% of students in Detroit finish high school

More than 60% of the men will spend time in jail

There may soon be no bus service in some areas

It is difficult to attract jobs or private capital

Not safe; very few parks Difficult to get fresh food

The year my step daughter finished high school, 100% of the students graduated and 100% went to college

Most will not even drive by a jail

Free bus service Relatively easy to attract

capital Very safe; great parks Easy to get fresh food

Low Opportunity High Opportunity

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Remedying Opportunity Isolation

Adopt strategies that open up access to levers of opportunity for marginalized individuals, families, and communities Bring opportunities to opportunity-deprived

areas

Connect people to existing opportunities throughout the metropolitan region

Targeted Universalism

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Targeted Universalism

Target universalism is a common framework through which to pursue justice A model which

recognizes our linked fate

A model where we all grow together

A model where we embrace collective solutions

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Problems of Targeted Universalism

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Example: The G.I. Bill In the 7 years following WWII, approximately 8 million veterans received educational benefits Approximately 2.3 million attended

colleges and universities, 3.5 million received school training, and 3.4 million received on-the-job training

Problems of Targeted Universalism

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Benefits of the G.I. Bill Bill provisions included assistance with:

buying a homeattending collegestarting new business ventureslocating a job

From 1946 to 1947, VA mortgages comprised more than 40% of the total

Problems of Targeted Universalism

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Despite the bill’s achievements, many barriers were placed in the path of Black soldiers

Implementation was left to states and localities, including those that practiced Jim Crow racism.

The access of Black people to primarily White colleges and institutions was limited

95% of Black veterans used their education vouchers at historically Black colleges (HBCUs) in the South

These historically Black institutions were limited in number and had limited space to admit the influx of Black veterans

The access of Black people to primarily White colleges and institutions was limited

95% of Black veterans used their education vouchers at historically Black colleges (HBCUs) in the South

These historically Black institutions were limited in number and had limited space to admit the influx of Black veterans

The education gap widened instead of closed

The vocational training black veterans received was not held to any standards, thus often proving inadequate

The education gap widened instead of closed

The vocational training black veterans received was not held to any standards, thus often proving inadequate

“…despite the assistance that black soldiers received, there was no greater instrument for widening an already huge racial gap in postwar America than the GI Bill.”

(Katznelson 2005, p. 121)

Communities of Opportunity

Everyone should have fair access to the critical opportunity structures needed to succeed in life

Communities are linked to a larger system

Affirmatively connecting people to opportunity creates positive, transformative change in communities

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Community Development Model39

A systems response Where are your key

leverage points? What are the critical

intervention points? Equity focused

Creating a community for all

Emphasis on strategic collaboration Across multiple domains

Opening pathways to opportunity through engagement People , places, linkages

For more information, see our report “Pathways to Opportunity: Partnership and Collaboration for Revitalizing the Rosemont-Walbrook Neighborhood” available at www.kirwaninstitute.org

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STRATEGIES FOR CONNECTING TO OPPORTUNITY

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Mind Science46

Three Interrelated Sites of Racial Justice

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Explicit Racism48

Individual Racism, Implicit Bias

Only 2% of emotional cognition is available to us consciously

Messages can be “framed” to speak to our unconscious

Racial bias tends to reside in the unconscious network

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The Location of Implicit Racism

Racial attitudes operate in our “unconscious” (also called “subconscious”) mind

Usually invisible to us but significantly influences our positions on critical issues

Negative unconscious attitudes about race are called “implicit bias” or “symbolic racism.”

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Unconscious Networks51

Unconscious Networks52

What colors are the following lines of text?

Unconscious Networks53

What colors are the following lines of text?

Unconscious Networks54

What colors are the following lines of text?

Unconscious Networks55

What colors are the following lines of text?

Unconscious Networks56

What colors are the following lines of text?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrqrkihlw-s

Awareness Test

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How to Talk about Race

Speak on structures and systems rather than explicit individual action/reaction

Speak on the subconscious—the implicit bias that is stored within the mind

Speak on relationships—build collaborations and engage in real discussion

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Talk about race can reinforce our conscious beliefs or challenge our

implicit biases

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In Conclusion…60

Seeing the Connections

Attempts to address singular issues in isolated ways will ultimately fail

Targeted interventions must recognize the interconnected nature of our structures

While many policy areas can appear distinct, we must think of them collectively.

Ex: transportation

Is this an urban policy issue? An environmental issue? A jobs/economic issue?

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Linked Fate62

Why should others care about equity and inclusion?

A region and all its residents share a linked fate

Inequality is a sign of an economically/socially inefficient region, where proper investments are not made in human capital, and where much of the population can not meet its creative potential

Interconnectedness63

Recognize the interconnectedness of our being and our fate

Focus on targeting within universalism Be the natural extension of an

overarching, shared vision and framework Reconceptualize society to promote the political, economic,spiritual, and psychological health of all

A Final Lesson

We must consider how we each stand differently with respect to our opportunities for work, education, parenting, retirement…

We must understand the work our institutions and organizations do, not what we wished they would do, in order to make them more equitable and fair

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www.KirwanInstitute.org

KirwanInstitute on:

www.Transforming-Race.org

www.race-talk.org

Appendix66

Implicit Association Tests

Racialized outcomes do not require racist actors

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Links

Implicit Association Test https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Examples of priming http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=yrqrkihlw-s http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=FqGqGwRaILg

System Archetypes

http://www.systems-thinking.org/arch/arch.htm

http://www.systems-thinking.org/theWay/theWay.htm

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Further Reading

Systems Thinking and Race PrimerStephen Menendian and Caitlin Watt. (July 2009)

Talking About Race—Resource Notebook (pdf)Tom Rudd, Annette Johnson, Cheryl Staats, john a. powell, Andrew Grant-Thomas (August 2009)

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