Historic and Contemporary Effects of Racism

The Mother Theresa Maxis, IHM Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation
at Marywood University

Since the foundation of the United States, Blacks/African Americans, Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) have been marginalized based on historical paradigms of prejudice. These groups were systematically disenfranchised, disempowered, segregated, and endured various forms of harsh and unjust treatment simply based on the color of their skin. Some of the well documented examples of this include the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the American institution of slavery, forced assimilation of Native Americans through boarding schools and forced segregation onto reservations, and other atrocities stemming from a pervasive belief in the hierarchy of human value. Similarly, Blacks were marginalized, and denied basic civil rights to vote, to obtain a quality education, equitable housing options, and employment for nearly one hundred years with the establishment of Jim Crow laws, which followed after the end of the American Civil War.

The Hispanic/Latinx population has experienced inequities in immigration, which limited their ability to legally obtain employment and a living wage. “Limited pathways to citizenship and major restrictions to resources that promote integration have adverse consequences for immigrants and their families. Research shows that children experience toxic stress that negatively impacts their long-term health and development from heightened immigration enforcement, regardless of any personal impact (Ng’andu & Fu, 2023, p. 46).  In addition, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders have experienced detention and forced imprisonment; and, poor Whites in rural areas have been denied equal access to jobs, resources, and healthcare. When one looks at these injustices through the lens of social justice, it becomes clear the way in which resources, wealth, and power have been structured in this country, creating structural inequalities that continue to negatively impact the lived experiences of our BIPOC citizens in our communities at-large.

One notion that defines or identifies how the effects of racism impose on the mental and physical health of Blacks in particular is the concept of “Double Consciousness” coined by W.E.B. DuBois. In his ground-breaking book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903), DuBois characterized double consciousness as a kind of socio-psychological, and, sometimes, socio-historical disposition of African Americans specifically and for people of color generally to view their aims and goals as shaped by the social barrier of racial segregation and colonization. DuBois refers to this barrier as “the Veil.” He also describes it as a “two-ness” in terms of Blacks as having to contend with being both African American and American in a racist society that views them as “the problem.”

“It signifies the ubiquitous and pervasive impediment, on racially segregated grounds, to both the fulfillment and the belief in the fulfillment of African American ideals and objectives. But it also signifies the concealment from white people’s comprehension the legacy and currency of African-American practices and forms of life as shaped by this racial hindrance – practices and forms of life reflective of material poverty, stifled ambitions, and diminished expectations on one side, yet uncommon moral courage, melodious eloquence and expression, and irrepressible religious faith on the other” (Kirkland, 2012, p. 2). Generally speaking, double consciousness causes an inner conflicted psychological state of mind which plagues African Americans as a whole regarding their aims, pursuits, and the fulfillment of them in light of the duality that this cultural and social dilemma inflicts.

Moreover, many contemporary effects of racism continue to be perpetuated based on their historical antecedents. For example, in recent years, the turmoil between law enforcement and Black and Brown people has ignited large protests demanding change; subsequently, issues of race and racism have been catapulted back onto center stage. The idea that individual racism can account for much of the racial inequality has received the strongest pushback from those who believe that racism today is primarily a ‘structural’ phenomenon. In fact, structural racism is just one among many intergroup phenomena now widely understood primarily in ‘structural’ terms, ‘Structural inequality’ (or ‘structural injustice’) (Ng’andu & Fu, 2023).

As a result, claims that contemporary societies are steeped in institutional racism have again become commonplace. Over the years, there are some who tout the rhetoric that racism is not as ingrained in our society as it was in the past (e.g., Jim Crow era), but when you hear the first-hand experiences of BIPOC groups (e.g., students, employees, medical patients), it is clear that our behaviors (e.g., implicit biases) have had a direct influence on our institutional policies and practices in nearly all of our companies and organizations. Sometimes, other terms such as structural racism are used, but whatever the term, what unites their use is the thought that contemporary racism is now not mainly an individual phenomenon. Furthermore, there is significant evidence to show that racism is pervasive in our society.

Consequently, our country as a whole has suffered immeasurably due to the effects of racism. I have read some research from those in the medical field that say discrimination based on race has cost an estimated 310 billion dollars in loss due to disproportionate patient treatment and care in the last decade alone. The majority of our BIPOC and students in rural communities are also continuing to suffer. However, there are many groups and organizations that seek to create a more comprehensive level of awareness and understanding of the systems of oppression caused by racism and create solutions that address and dismantle these systemic entities.

In 2019, the mission and core values of Marywood led a small group of faculty and staff to apply for a grant from the American Association of Colleges and Universities to develop a Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) on campus. Marywood was fortunate to be one of only 12 other schools awarded the grant. Since that time, the Center has become an instrumental part of campus and generally in NEPA, providing critical resources (e.g., training, workshops, community events, and lecture series) on campus as well as in the local and regional community.  In May 2024, the Center was renamed to honor Mother Theresa Maxis, IHM, who herself grappled with racism and discrimination. The TRHT Center seeks to bridge the racial and social gaps that divide us, and be a catalyst for change, togetherness, acceptance, and progress.

References

     Kirkland, F. M. (2013). On Du Bois’ notion of double consciousness. Philosophy Compass, 8(2), 137-148.

     Ng’andu, J., & Fu, C. (2024). The intergenerational effects from structural racism cost our society greatly. Academic Pediatrics, 24(5), 46-47.