Pastor Tony Evans sits down to answer the commonly asked question, what is systemic racism? He speaks from his own experience as well as from America’s own history with racism. Dr. Evans gives us a reminder that we can’t just sit idly by with these systems in place.
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in light of all that’s taking place
today there are so many questions the
division the conflict the
misunderstanding I thought I would take
a moment to address one of the subjects
that regularly comes up that that people
are confused about and that is what is
systemic racism well first of all let’s
define racism racism is the conscious or
unconscious belief in the superiority of
one’s race over and against another race
that feeling that belief gets manifested
in the use of power or influence or
resources or even communication that
seeks to reject or marginalize or even
oppress a person of another color race
or ethnicity when we talk about systemic
racism we’re talking about the presence
of racism as we’ve just defined it being
embedded into the structures of society
whether those structures are political
or economic or legal or medical or
related to housing or employment it is
where it has become part of the policies
or procedures of a way a particular
entity operates of course we’re all
aware of the evil system of slavery that
was a legal system
oppressed a group of people because of
the color of their skin but that got
embedded into other structures in
society for example criminal justice
there was a practice called peonage or
debt servitude where after the 13th
amendment was established granting
freedom to slaves there was a clause
that said unless you are criminal so
what was done was the criminalizing of
men for the most minor of infractions so
that the 13th amendment could not be
applied and they would be held in
servitude oftentimes way beyond what
they were arrested for and many times
they were arrested for little or nothing
in order to keep them from being able to
claim the freedom that was being granted
by the 13th amendment it showed up in
the way people were denied employment or
educational opportunities or being able
to access the goods and services during
Jim Crow segregation it showed up in
churches that were unwilling to accept
people of a different of a different
race because of the color of their skin
or I can speak personally when I was
told when I was trying to enter into the
media ministry that a black speaker
would offend too many of our white
listeners there was a system at work
that was denying equal opportunity and
equal access those systems while a
person may not be personally a racist
can be supported by supporting the
structure that is that way and unless
you are not only not a racist but that
you speak against racism where it shows
up they can continue to be part of the
fiber
of a particular way a particular
structure operates when you understand
that in a race some people if they are
allowed to get started quicker and
faster or start at a starting point much
ahead of where where another group is
that the group behind has to play
catch-up and at least being empathetic
and sympathetic that that has been a
historical reality not only in people’s
personal views but in the structures
that people have believed in supported
affirmed then you understand why there
is a catch up that needs to take place
and when you understand that appreciate
that in grasp at it does give you a
different sensitivity to the reality now
of course that sensitivity must be
handled in a not only an empathetic way
but a responsible way but at the same
time just knowing that that that people
have been held back people of color have
been held back by structures not just by
individuals helps you to understand why
certain elements within our society need
to be corrected so that equal
opportunity is granted the granting that
God gives all men and the granting that
the United States offers to all of us as
well
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