Your one-stop cure for racial injustice denialism
July 21, 2015 11:01 AM Subscribe
Help me compile a list of links to specific, credible studies (and accessible summaries thereof) which demonstrate that anti-black racism is alive and well in America.
I am fed the fuck up with my fellow Caucasoids who refuse to acknowledge that systemic racism exists in the US.
At the same time, I don't believe that these folks are malicious, for the most part. I think they're just ignorant, and have difficulty absorbing ideas which conflict with their existing (if tragically mistaken) belief that America is basically a fair, meritocratic, color-blind place where one's success is directly proportional to one's effort.
I'd like to create a single-serving Web site which concisely lays out the evidence that systemic racism does exist. Something I can link people to when they start babbling about "white lives matter too" or whatever nonsense. (Can you tell this just happened to me?)
I'm not just looking for statistics which demonstrate that black communities suffer more from poverty, unfavorable health outcomes, low rates of college attendance, higher rates of incarceration, etc. All of those can be explained away with "well, it's because black culture doesn't value family and hard work", or "well, they should stop committing all that black-on-black crime".
Besides, folks who deny the existence of systemic racism often don't regard inequality, by itself, as anything to be concerned about.
I want studies which demonstrate, specifically, that inequality is caused by systemic racism: which show that blacks and whites are not playing on equal fields.
For example, studies which show that: the War on Drugs is disproportionately waged against black communities; school districts in predominantly black areas are less well funded than those in predominantly white areas; unconscious racism is a thing; etc.
I welcome studies involving any topic: education, healthcare, poverty, violence, police brutality, employment discrimination, etc. The more wide-ranging, the better.
I'm also open to studies which address common tropes about "black-on-black crime", welfare fraud, etc.
(I'm well aware that "studies" and "facts" will be meaningless to some proportion of my intended audience. Let's not debate that.)
Studies that are already on my list:
Thanks.
I am fed the fuck up with my fellow Caucasoids who refuse to acknowledge that systemic racism exists in the US.
At the same time, I don't believe that these folks are malicious, for the most part. I think they're just ignorant, and have difficulty absorbing ideas which conflict with their existing (if tragically mistaken) belief that America is basically a fair, meritocratic, color-blind place where one's success is directly proportional to one's effort.
I'd like to create a single-serving Web site which concisely lays out the evidence that systemic racism does exist. Something I can link people to when they start babbling about "white lives matter too" or whatever nonsense. (Can you tell this just happened to me?)
I'm not just looking for statistics which demonstrate that black communities suffer more from poverty, unfavorable health outcomes, low rates of college attendance, higher rates of incarceration, etc. All of those can be explained away with "well, it's because black culture doesn't value family and hard work", or "well, they should stop committing all that black-on-black crime".
Besides, folks who deny the existence of systemic racism often don't regard inequality, by itself, as anything to be concerned about.
I want studies which demonstrate, specifically, that inequality is caused by systemic racism: which show that blacks and whites are not playing on equal fields.
For example, studies which show that: the War on Drugs is disproportionately waged against black communities; school districts in predominantly black areas are less well funded than those in predominantly white areas; unconscious racism is a thing; etc.
I welcome studies involving any topic: education, healthcare, poverty, violence, police brutality, employment discrimination, etc. The more wide-ranging, the better.
I'm also open to studies which address common tropes about "black-on-black crime", welfare fraud, etc.
(I'm well aware that "studies" and "facts" will be meaningless to some proportion of my intended audience. Let's not debate that.)
Studies that are already on my list:
- College professors are less likely to answer emails from black-sounding names
- Whites believe that blacks feel less pain
- Employers are less likely to respond to resumes from black-sounding names
- People tend to think that black kids are older (and thus more culpable) than they really are
- Young black men are 21 times more likely to be killed by the police than young white men
- Perhaps some of the information from 1.5 Million Missing Black Men
Thanks.
Do take a look at Tim Wise's website. Some people find him a bit strident but he's a great source of information.
posted by janey47 at 11:29 AM on July 21, 2015
posted by janey47 at 11:29 AM on July 21, 2015
Best answer: The work of Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt, a MacArthur Genius Grant-winning psychologist at Stanford, would be along the lines you're looking for.
This ongoing ProPublica series on segregation would be good to read through too.
posted by black_lizard at 11:40 AM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
This ongoing ProPublica series on segregation would be good to read through too.
posted by black_lizard at 11:40 AM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Here's a link to a study on implicit racial bias among physicians.
posted by chicainthecity at 1:05 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by chicainthecity at 1:05 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: There are a number of links in the description of this John Green video.
posted by Shanda at 4:36 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Shanda at 4:36 PM on July 21, 2015
Consider that many view studies published in peer-reviewed journals from independent organizations as having far more credibility than studies conducted and released by advocacy organizations, such as ProPublica.
You asked for credible studies. The ProPublica study you cited Young black men are 21 times more likely to be killed by the police than young white men" contains a huge flaw. For each race, the authors divided the number of deaths by the the number in the general population. A person who never comes in contact with the police has a zero chance of being killed by one, so the proper denominators are number stopped by police or a similar measure.
Thomas Sowell said "The word 'racism' is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything - and demanding evidence makes you a 'racist.'" It will be easier to open the minds of those who agree with him by linking to a broadly accepted definition of racism.
posted by Homer42 at 1:29 AM on July 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
You asked for credible studies. The ProPublica study you cited Young black men are 21 times more likely to be killed by the police than young white men" contains a huge flaw. For each race, the authors divided the number of deaths by the the number in the general population. A person who never comes in contact with the police has a zero chance of being killed by one, so the proper denominators are number stopped by police or a similar measure.
Thomas Sowell said "The word 'racism' is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything - and demanding evidence makes you a 'racist.'" It will be easier to open the minds of those who agree with him by linking to a broadly accepted definition of racism.
posted by Homer42 at 1:29 AM on July 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
Jennifer Eberhardt and Jennifer Richeson are both highly esteemed academic researchers and Genius Grant awardees who study racial bias.
Here's a peer reviewed study that just came out showing that drivers are less likely to stop for black pedestrians compared to white ones.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/motr/racial-bias-extends-to-the-crosswalk.html
posted by forkisbetter at 5:25 AM on July 22, 2015
Here's a peer reviewed study that just came out showing that drivers are less likely to stop for black pedestrians compared to white ones.
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/motr/racial-bias-extends-to-the-crosswalk.html
posted by forkisbetter at 5:25 AM on July 22, 2015
Response by poster: Consider that many view studies published in peer-reviewed journals from independent organizations as having far more credibility than studies conducted and released by advocacy organizations, such as ProPublica.
I share that view. Thanks for pointing out the methodological problems with the ProPublica study.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:22 AM on July 22, 2015
I share that view. Thanks for pointing out the methodological problems with the ProPublica study.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 8:22 AM on July 22, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by matildaben at 11:27 AM on July 21, 2015