and an entrenched system of policies, procedures and organizational structures that consistently and unfairly create or reinforce discrimination or inequality between racial groups. Unlike individual racism, which is practiced directly from person to person, institutional racism operates through social institutions (e.g., education, health, justice, economics, housing, and politics) where existing laws, practices, or norms deprive some groups of resources or opportunities, even without direct intent or personal animosity. This concept gained prominence in the 1960s through Stokely Carmichael and Charles W. Hamilton’s work Black Power (1967), where they noted that systems and policies can have the same results as outright racism, even if people do not express it publicly. Thus, a structural form of discrimination that is difficult to combat, as it is often “impersonal” and justified under the guise of “laws” or “institutional norms”. Examples of institutional racism include: 1) In education: Schools in poor neighborhoods (often with minority populations) receive less funding, have weaker curricula, and less experienced teachers than schools in wealthy neighborhoods. College admissions policies that favor students from affluent socioeconomic backgrounds.
2) In the labor market: employment systems that favor people from certain social groups (often from the majority), which reduces the chances of minorities to get a prestigious job. Wage gap between races despite equal qualifications.
3) In housing: the “red line” policy in the United States, where African Americans were denied mortgages in certain areas, depriving them of the opportunity to own a home and accumulate wealth.
4) In the judicial system: higher rates of arrest and incarceration among minorities (such as African Americans and Hispanics) compared to the white majority, even for similar crimes, and harsher penalties for minorities for the same crimes.
5) In health care: unequal access to medical care or health insurance. Hidden discrimination in pain management in patients (for example, studies have shown that doctors sometimes underestimate the severity of pain reported by minority patients).