Institutional Racism in the United States

Institutional Racism in relation to Crime and Race

Institutional Racism is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: Racism refers to a belief about the racial superiority of one group over another. Racism can be expressed in individual beliefs and actions, as well as by groups. Institutional racism is racism that is embedded in a society’s institutions—for example, in the political, economic, educational, and criminal justice systems—in a subtle form that allows the dominant group to systematically exploit and dehumanize the subordinate group. Civil rights activists and political scientists are credited with introducing the concept of institutional racism. Among the functions of institutional racism is the maintenance of racist practices that create and sustain the dominant group’s privileges at the expense of equal opportunities for subordinate groups. Institutional racism contributes to discriminatory systemwide norms that are embodied in institutional policies and practices. Whereas incidents of individual racism are somewhat easy to detect, institutional racism is more difficult to identify because it involves more than specific actions by individuals.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Institutional Racism in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

See Also