Finally, an explanation of systemic racism that won’t put you to sleep

The phrase “systemic racism” is used to talk about all of the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions that harm certain racial groups and help others. “Systemic” distinguishes what’s happening here from individual racism or overt discrimination, and refers to the way this operates in major parts of US society: the economy, politics, education, and more.

But that kind of explanation can make people’s eyes glaze over.

Still, it’s a really important concept that comes up a lot, and “systemic racism” is some of the best shorthand we have to explain why there’s still so much inequality in American life — a concept that unfortunately needs to be explained a lot.

That’s why it’s so great that Race Forward (a racial justice organization that publishes the daily news site Colorlines, and puts on Facing Race, a huge conference dedicated to racial justice) has created a series of excellent short videos starring Jay Smooth to explain — quickly, with statistics and examples, and in plain language — what systemic racism looks.

The one above focuses on drug arrests. In just a few sentences, it drives home how racial disparities here harm African Americans:

Did you know that over 40% of drug arrests are not for selling any drugs but just for possession of marijuana? And that White and Black Americans are about equally likely to use marijuana, but Blacks are 3.7 more likely to be arrested for it? And that even if they don’t get convicted of a crime that arrest can stay on their record and affect their chances at good jobs, housing and bank loans for the rest of their lives?

There’s more where this came from. Similar videos cover the wealth gap, housing discrimination, employment, government surveillance, incarceration, immigration policy, and infant mortality, and they are all worth watching. See them all at Race Forward.