Omi And Winant's Theory Of Systemic Racism

For example, one racial project that has taken hold in the Black community has been on black beauty. Although a “Black is Beautiful” movement started in the 1960’s there was a natural hair movement in the 2000s that sparked social, political and economic change. Dominant culture dictated straight and “neat” hair; this was a way to control Black bodies both socially and economically, as certain workplaces maintained racist guidelines on appearance. This racial project challenged the beauty norms, triggered a 34% decline in relaxers since 2009 (Sidibe 2015) while increasing the market of Black beauty supplies, while also advocating for changes in racist regulations such as “unauthorized hairstyles” outlined by the U.S. Military (Rhodan 2004).

Feagin argues while the racialization process is important, its founders fail to address the material and political-economic interests of those in power. Feagin believes systemic racism to be a “big picture” approach, and an understanding that the entirety of society’s foundation is based on anti-Black racism and oppression. The main tenet of systemic racism is that “all racial-ethnic relationships and events, past and present” must be placed in the context of targeting African Americans to be understood (Feagin 2006). Furthermore, Feagin argues that racial formation does not adequately address contemporary racism, and concepts such as the intergenerational transmission of material and cultural wealth. Systemic racism is a theory that understands the United States as a web of interconnected and interdependent organizations and institutions that work as a system for the purpose of racial

Economic domination which started with the slave labor of people of color has continued to benefit Whites through job discrimination, job segregation and labor exploitation. A recent (2017) meta-analysis of field experiments over the course of 25 years analyzed callbacks for Black job applicants relative to white applicants. Researchers found that even when controlling for education, gender, occupation and study method, that hiring discrimination against Blacks has not declined since 1990 (Quillian et. al. 2017). The Economic Policy Institute found that while controlling for access to education, work experience, or location, Blacks make 27% less than Whites in 2015, a wage gap that has continuously grown in the past forty years (Wilson and Roger 2016). This systemic economic domination leads to unjust enrichment of Whites and unjust impoverishment of Blacks. These two concepts are another core tenet of systemic racism, in that through racial oppression of African Americans, there are material gains and losses. Whites place themselves in a position of unjust enrichment by obtaining property, money or other benefits that belong to Blacks. On the flip-side, Blacks experience chronic unjust impoverishment, being denied access to resources or