IT'S
IT'S A
IT'S A LOADED WORD THESE DAYS. CHRISTIN AYERS TELLS US ABOUT
THE KIND OF PRIVILEGE THAT HAS
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH
WEALTH OR PRESTIGE.
>> Reporter: YOU MIGHT THINK
RACISM IN THE U.S. IS REALLY A
CASE OF A FEW BAD APPLES.
A RACIST COP HERE, A SO-CALLED
KAREN THERE.
KAREN THERE. A LEADER OF A WHITE
SUPREMACIST GROUP.
SUPREMACIST GROUP. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO
DELIBERATELY HATE.
DELIBERATELY HATE. BUT WE CAN'T BLAME RACISM IN
AMERICA ON JUST A FEW BAD
APPLES.
APPLES.
APPLES. THINK OF OUR NATIONS PROBLEMS
AS MORE LIKE AN APPLE PIE WITH
THE RACIAL INJUSTICE BAKED
RIGHT INTO EVERY ASPECT OF OUR
SOCIETY.
SOCIETY.
SOCIETY. MEET EBONY AND EMILY.
TWO AMERICAN BABIES.
ONE BLACK, ONE WHITE.
BORN AT THE SAME TIME, SAME
PLACE, BUT EBONY WILL NOT GET
AN EQUAL SLICE OF THE PIE.
AND THAT STARTS FROM BIRTH.
BECAUSE OF HER RACE, EBONY IS
THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN
EMILY TO DIE IN THE HOSPITAL
AS A NEWBORN IF HER DOCTOR IS
WHITE.
WHITE.
WHITE. AND ONCE EBONY AND EMILY GO TO
SCHOOL, WHILE BOTH GIRLS,
OCCASIONALLY, MISBEHAVE,
OCCASIONALLY, MISBEHAVE, STUDIES SHOW THEY WON'T FACE
THE SAME PUNISHMENT.
EBONY IS SEVEN TIMES MORE
LIKELY THAN EMILY TO BE
SUSPENDED AND FOUR TIMES MORE
LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED ON
CAMPUS.
CAMPUS.
CAMPUS. WHEN THE TWO GIRLS GROW UP AND
APPLY FOR JOBS, ODDS ARE YOUR
EMPLOYERS WILL CALL, FEWER
EMPLOYERS WILL CALL EBONY
BACK.
BACK.
BACK. AND
BACK. AND EVEN THOUGH EMILY AND
EBONY WILL GET THE SAME
COLLEGE DEGREES, ONCE EBONY IS
HIRED, STATISTICALLY AS A
BLACK PERSON, SHE'LL MAKE AN
AVERAGE OF 25% LESS THAN
EMILY.
EMILY.
EMILY. SO
EMILY. SO WHY DIDN'T EBONY GET AN
EQUAL SLICE OF THAT APPLE PIE?
IT'S BECAUSE SYSTEMIC RACISM
IS BUILT INTO OUR COUNTRY'S
DNA.
DNA.
DNA. IN
DNA. IN THE 17th AND 18th
CENTURIES, WHITE MEN NEEDED
LAND, SO THEY TOOK IT FROM
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, AND THEN
FORCED BLACKS INTO SLAVERY.
TO JUSTIFY USING BLACKS FOR
FREE LABOR, THE WHITES IN
POWER PROMOTED A MYTH, THAT
BLACKS WERE INFERIOR.
AND AS SEATTLE-BASED AUTHOR
IJEOMA OLUO POINTS OUT, OUR
NATIONS INSTITUTIONS, POLITICS
AND POLICIES WERE DESIGNED
AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THAT
MONEY DRIVEN LIE THAT BLACK
PEOPLE JUST WEREN'T AS WORDY
OR AS CAPABLE AS WHITES.
>> OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS WERE
BUILT AROUND THIS, ECONOMIC
SYSTEMS WERE BUILT AROUND
THIS, GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS WERE
BUILT AROUND THIS.
AND IT IS SIMPLY THAT THINGS
WERE DESIGNED TO UPHOLD THE
STORY.
STORY.
STORY. TO
STORY. TO UPHOLD THIS EXPLOITATION.
>> Reporter: AND EVEN THOUGH
SLAVERY ENDED HERE MORE THAN
150 YEARS AGO, THE RACISM THAT
FUELED IT PERSISTS IN SYSTEMIC
WAYS TODAY.
WAYS TODAY. WHITE AMERICANS NOW HOLD 85%
OF THE COUNTRY'S WEALTH.
BLACK AMERICANS JUST OVER 4%.
AND HISPANICS JUST OVER 3%.
PEOPLE OF COLOR, PEOPLE LIKE
EBONY, ARE STATISTICALLY MORE
LIKELY TO BE IMPOVERISHED,
INCARCERATED AND FACE
DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE.
EMILY MAY HAVE HER OWN
BARRIERS IN LIFE, BUT HER SKIN
COLOR WON'T BE ONE OF THEM.
>> IT'S NOT SOMEONE SAID,
HERE'S YOUR WEALTH, BECAUSE
YOU'RE WHITE.
YOU'RE WHITE. HERE'S YOUR STATUS, BECAUSE
YOU'RE WHITE.
YOU'RE WHITE. IT SIMPLY MEANS THAT THE
BARRIERS WE PLACE IN FRONT OF
PEOPLE OF COLOR WERE NOT
PLACED IN FRONT OF YOU.
YOU MAY HAVE A WHOLE 'NOTHER
SET OF BARRIERS.
YOU MAY HAVE BARRIERS OF
DISABILITY, BARRIERS OF CLASS,
BARRIERS OF IMMIGRATION
STATUS, SO MANY OTHER BARRIERS
THAT WERE PLACED IN FRONT OF
YOU.
YOU.
YOU. BUT
YOU. BUT ACKNOWLEDGING PRIVILEGE IS
SIMPLY ACKNOWLEDGING IF WE
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OTHER SET OF
BARRIERS THAT WE PLACE, YOU
WOULD STUMBLE EVEN FURTHER.
>> Reporter: EVEN THOUGH YOU
MAY NOT CONSIDER YOURSELF A
BAD APPLE, A RACIST COP, A SO-
CALLED KAREN, OR A MEMBER OF
AN EXTREMIST GROUP, IJEOMA
OLUO SAYS YOU MAY HAVE PLAYED
A ROLE EVEN IF YOU HAVE THE
BEST INTENTIONS.
BEST INTENTIONS. >> INSTEAD OF LET'S ALL LEARN
TO BE BEST FRIENDS AND LOVE
EACH OTHER, YOU CAN LOVE
SOMEONE OF A DIFFERENT RACE
AND ETHNICITY AND STILL
ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THEIR
OPPRESSION BASED ON HOW YOU
VOTE,