Systemic racism persists throughout history and is overlooked by thousands of people today. One example of this can be seen in Alejandra’s life. Being the only daughter of Mexican immigrants to participate in the International Baccalaureate program unlike her fellow Latinos, she was discriminated against. When she graduated, her guidance counselor discouraged her from pursuing her dreams of a 4-year college but rather pursued a local community college like other Latinos (Kuznia 2017). 

This creates a stereotype and injustice towards Latinos. In my opinion, this created subtle racism. While some are clear, this small advice could be seen as undermining Latinos in education. Just because of race, she was seen as “different” taking higher-level courses and persuaded to join her fellow Latinos later in college. A counselor could have possibly meant to segregate a student and subtle messages like these could still be a reason why racism still persists in the public education system. This perpetuates the inequality in a school system and is taking longer for minority students to become “normal” in a predominantly white school system. 

This is relevant to us today because while racism is getting acknowledged by people, the subtle cues are going unnoticed. Although most of the racism today in schools isn’t born from the hate, students unknowingly form groups based on race and sometimes tend to exclude the minority. Personally, for me, it has happened throughout elementary to college. Whether I’m treated as the “smart Indian” or the “brown girl”, the repeated subtle cues have become the new normal. 

This story is related to the idea of the “subaltern”. Spivak questions whether the subaltern can speak and in this case, the voice of the subaltern is very limited. The Latinos in this case are seen as the minority being judged in a specific way. The counselor is making an assumption and not equally holding the girl to the same standard. Alejandra is only pushing for her dreams but has no say in what she wants. To eliminate this systemic racism, we have to realize the intentional and unintentional racism and be inclusive towards all minorities.

Below is a link to an article as well as 2 pictures. The first one indicates Hispanics have one of the highest dropout rates and it can be tied to the unnoticed racism in society. The second one shows how much of the population is made up of Latinos and if the intentional and unintentional racism persists, it could affect a majority of the public education population.

https://psmag.com/education/racism-in-schools-unintentional-3821

Income inequality in the US has existed for centuries. It is a source of numerous problems in the US, such as poverty, homelessness, and crime rates (Keeley, 2021). Despite being a source of these problems, wealth inequality has gotten much worse in the US since the 1970s. One major source of this change in inequality is the massive change in how much the average CEO is paid compared to the average full-time employee. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the ratio of the average CEO income to the average employee income in 1965 was about 21 to 1. In 2020, the ratio of average CEO pay to average employee pay was 351 to 1, with the average CEO making $24,200,000 annually (Mishel & Kandra, 2021). Meanwhile, according to the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), the minimum wage, if adjusted for inflation, has actually declined since 1968, when the minimum wage was $1.60 an hour or $12 an hour after factoring in inflation (Baker, 2021). This massive disparity in wages, along with the increasing costs of goods due to inflation, has resulted in many workers, especially in the service and hospitality industry, to at best, be able to survive at a subsistence level and at worst, not be able to afford the cost of living in their state without assistance or without sharing the cost of living with others. In fact, as of 2020, in every state other than Arizona, the minimum wage in each state is not enough to pay for the average cost of living by yourself in that state without having a second source of income. (Divvy, 2020)

Table showing states by the ability of its minimum wage to pay for the cost of living

This prevents anyone without post-secondary education or skills in a trade from surviving off of a single job and significantly contributes to homelessness and poverty in the United States. Not only that, but people who want to survive off of their own income could very easily rationalize committing crimes to increase their income, especially after seeing statistics like the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio. This inability to survive off of a single job is unacceptable and could be considered theft from workers, as their pay hasn’t risen at anywhere near the level their employer’s income has. In fact, according to the CEPR, if the minimum wage had risen with productivity since 1948, it would be $24 an hour or $49,920 a year today.

Graph showing minimum wage in 2020 dollars and what the minimum wage would be if it rose with productivity

For some people, such as myself, this is more money than their parents made combined. Unfortunately, there is a lot of opposition to raising the minimum wage to even a subsistence level, let alone raising it to account for productivity. In my own experiences with discussing an increase in the minimum wage, I often hear the arguments that small businesses couldn’t survive paying that wage or that these minimum wage jobs are designed as starter jobs for high school students. These arguments establish employees at these jobs as an other who don’t deserve to be able to live off of their own income and often ignore the harsh reality that many people, such as students and the recently unemployed, may have to work at a minimum wage job.

Keeley, Brian (2015), “How does income inequality affect our lives?”, in Income Inequality: The Gap between Rich and Poor, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Mishel, Lawrence, and Jori Kandra. “CEO Pay Has Skyrocketed 1,322% since 1978: CEOS Were Paid 351 Times as Much as a Typical Worker in 2020.” Economic Policy Institute, Economic Policy Institute, 10 Aug. 2021, https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2020/.

Baker, Dean. “This Is What Minimum Wage Would Be If It Kept Pace with Productivity.” CEPR, Center for Economic and Policy Research, 4 Feb. 2020, https://cepr.net/this-is-what-minimum-wage-would-be-if-it-kept-pace-with-productivity/.

“Minimum Wage vs. Cost of Living by State.” Divvy, Divvy, 4 Mar. 2020, https://getdivvy.com/blog/minimum-wage-vs-living-wage/.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the child of a Nigerian family. His parents came to Greece from Nigeria with his older brother in their arms, but Giannis was born in Greece. He was selling glasses and CDs to help his family financially. He grew up as a black man in Greece. He was being bullied for his color, until he hugged a basketball in his hands, and it was like he was embracing the whole globe. He started playing basketball in Greece at the age of 7. Νow he is one of the best players in the world and he was named MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the NBA (National Basketball Association) finals twice.

Giannis grew up in Greek culture, learning the language and going to school. But when he was home with his family, he learned to live the Nigerian way. Although he was born in Greece, Antetokounmpo “will never be Greek” in the consciousness of some “Greeks” who cannot bear to see their ideas and worldviews collapsed by a black man.

Giannis in one of his interviews says “Greece is a country of whites; someone’s life can become difficult with the color of my own skin. I was going to many neighborhoods, and I was facing a lot of negativities, racism…. It has been difficult and always will be difficult to be black in a white country, there are times when you feel that you are not who you really are.” From this quote we can see the racism and the bullying he was facing.

Giannis grew up in the xenophobia of the Greeks and the racism. His color was making him to be the “other” because if you want to be the “One” in Greece you must be white. Racists were asking him “does an emigrant have the right to criticize Greece?”. In America, the problem of black oppression has been deeply ingrained for hundreds of years, starting with colonialism, and continuing with racial segregation. In Greece, the problem stems from the ignorance that prevails regarding the differences that are coming from foreign cultures. In my opinion Giannis

is now the “One”, the “Greek Freak” (his nickname after his successes) and the racists are the “others”. All human beings have the right to love as well as criticize a country, where they were born and raised or immigrated to, regardless of the color of their skin.

https://vimeo.com/441633447?fbclid=IwAR3b5O1GOsP39NcUnR7dPByF9BDAQnloe68q-HwP81CmdH0yUz8-oAv0vYs

• “Γιάννης Αντετοκούνμπο: “Η Ελλάδα είναι χώρα λευκών” – Ο ρατσισμός και ο φόβος της απέλασης”. com.(2020, July 24)
• Γ.Αντετοκούνμπο: “Δεν είσαι έλληνας. Είσαι Νιγηριανός γιατί είσαι μαύρος, μου έλεγαν”. (2019, March 6).
• Sweet, J. “Giannis and identity”. Vimeo. (2021, November 5).

Being a student in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, we often discuss the inequality of environmental conditions between black and white, non-Hispanic communities. Studies show that communities of color face higher exposure rates to pollutants and toxins due to proximity to waste sites (like landfills, byproduct dumping grounds) and industrial facilities (Center for American Progress 2016). A direct example of this reality can be seen in Flint, Michigan, where the majority of the residents (54%) are black or African American.

In 2013, Flint officials decided to re-source the city’s water supply to save money, but the new agency was not prepared to deliver the water due being in the process of building a new pipeline. As a quick fix, the city decided they would use water from the Flint River after being treated in water treatment plants. Residents quickly reported discolored, foul-smelling water, but these complaints were ultimately ignored by the city. Certain chemicals found in the water have strong links with liver, lung, and kidney health complications, yet total access to clean water in the area has still not been achieved.

It can be argued that Flint is not overtly a black community since the percentage of black people living in the community is barely over half, however this can be countered when considering that only 13.4% of African Americans contribute to the United State’s population as of according to the census. Studies show low-income and communities of color are disproportionately affected by lead poisoning, due to lead based paint used in older, less expensive residences that are often one of the few or only options marginalized groups may have due to wage gaps. While lower income among marginalized groups attributes greatly to environmental injustice, the lack of governmental action, initiative, and support to fix the infrastructure in communities of color is another significant contributor.

We can apply this dynamic to Hegel’s Master/Slave dialect, where the Master (those who have the power, funds, and ability to alleviate – if not solve – the water crisis) and the Slave (the Flint community). Whether we determine the federal or state government, city officials, or even the complicit attitude of the nation, we can conclude that there is a Master who is liable for resolving this issue, as the people of Flint were left otherwise defenseless throughout the crisis.

People participate in a national mile-long march in February to highlight the push for clean water in Flint, Mich.

Since the beginning of the disaster, the lack of urgency to provide clean water by those responsible implied a lesser value of the people in Flint. This demonstrates how the Master can subjugate their actions to retain power and hierarchies, even without it being explicitly expressed. The subliminal message that was sent by the general inaction to solve the crises, along with a nation that failed in holding its leaders accountable, created a subconscious understanding regarding who our “Master prioritizes or favors. The government arguably does have the funds to improve these conditions, but is frequently allocated elsewhere – like in excessive military spending – while predominantly white communities do not suffer the same rate of health conditions (or simply the same low quality of infrastructure) seen in their black, non-white counterparts. By not attending to the immediate needs of black Americans and other oppressed groups, when technologies without corresponding health conditions have been successfully implemented in wealthy (commonly white) communities, systemic injustice is undoubtably exemplified.

This systematic injustice has been brought to light by the recent missing person (turned murder) case of Gabby Petito. This case was widely broadcasted across various major media forums and essentially all everyone was talking about on social media for weeks. With the help of civilians and the FBI Ms. Petito’s body was found after she was missing for nearly a month. This case did make people upset though because it brought to light how many people of color missing persons cases do not get the same treatment Gabby’s did. The colored community feels ignored and hurt by the lack of care media outlets, the police and the general population have when it’s an African American, Hispanic, Asian etc. man or woman that goes missing. The colored community’s missing persons cases often go inactive and unsolved. This is a systemic injustice because the police and media outlets give more special treatment to the superior race of white people while yet again the colored community gets unequal opportunities and treatment.

The graph above is a summary from the FBI of all the active missing persons cases of 2020. The blue lines represent the percentage of missing people compared to the yellow bar which represents the percentage that race makes up of the total US population. This graph just proves even more that the undercoverage of people of color missing persons cases are systemic injustices. I think this because as you can see the African American community makes up nearly 1/3 of the missing people cases but only make up 13% of the total population. These missing persons do not get the same treatment that white missing people do. Cases like Gabby Petitio’s taught us that if we gave these people of color missing persons cases as much care and coverage there would be less and less.

The above image is of Jelani Day. This missing persons case was inactive for months until the Gabby Petito case came around and Jelani’s mother pleaded with the FBI to treat her sons case with the same urgency as they did Gabby’s. I have included a link to a video below to see his mother plead for the same treatment that is truly heartbreaking. We can relate this systemic injustice to the concept of “other” we have learned about this semester. I think that often the priority for the FBI in missing persons cases are white women, and the rest really are pushed back into the category of other. Othering is about how we categorize people and issues amongst other things into a separate category from the supreme white race. I think that to stop this systemic injustice we need to give the colored community the same treatment we give white missing persons. Jelani’s mothers plea made his case more widespread and in turn helped find his body.  There are so many other cases out there like Jelani’s and we as a community need to bring more awareness to them. Unfourtanley as a society there are pre-dispositions made against the colored community (due to the idea that colored people are “other”) which make widespread media coverage of these cases not common. If we can all work together to hold our officials and community members accountable for their racial injustices we can help bring these missing persons cases to a closured end.

Links: https://abc7chicago.com/jelani-day-mother-update-investigation/11134742/

https://www.wcia.com/news/mother-of-missing-graduate-student-asks-for-communitys-support/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/23/us/families-missing-black-people/index.html

A systemic injustice present in the United States is education inequality. Education inequality is the unequal distribution of academic resources, including school funding, experienced teachers, books, and technology. Communities affected by education inequality tend to be historically oppressed and disadvantaged. School systems are often segregated by income, and oftentimes by race. According to a recent New York Times article, “More than half of the nation’s schoolchildren are in racially concentrated districts, where over 75 percent of students are either white or nonwhite.” This racial and economic segregation has created educational gaps between rich and poor, and white students and students of color. The same New York Times article also mentions that “School districts that predominantly serve students of color received $23 billion less in funding than mostly white school districts in the United States in 2016, despite serving the same number of students”. This is a systemic injustice mostly due to school district boundaries, where wealthy communities are often in different school districts than lower-income communities. Most funding for school districts comes from local taxes. In cases where the school districts reside in wealthy communities, schools receive more funding from taxes than those in poorer communities resulting in funding disparities in education. Funding at the state level is meant to fill these “gaps” however, in many states, these obligations are not being followed through on. With less funding, schools in poorer communities do not have the same resources, and opportunities, as those in wealthy communities. The solutions to this problem are far from easy and would take a systemic change within the education system across the board. With that being said in the examples below the stories behind the pictures share significant meaning. In the first picture with a FREE EDUCATION sign the students are protesting the unfair tuition fees. Also, the least privileged students are attacked by the tuition terms and the students are fighting this saying that students should be allowed to have further education regardless of their background and their financial stance. In the second picture, it takes place in 1968 where students did a walk out in Chicago due to the fact that students all around America were struggling to receive education that prepared them for college. The article discusses numerous statistical facts saying that minorities in poor locations were unable to receive the right education that was college ready. Due to these problems this resulted in students dropping out and not finishing school because they were denied a future in the first place because their education did not meet the criteria needed to seek further education.