preview

Institutionalized Racism

Good Essays

Institutionalized racism and mental health
Institutionalized racism runs deep within the American culture. Its roots have slowly engulfed society over time and in today’s society, it exists as much as it did decades ago, if not, the problem has gotten worse. Institutionalized racism is a system that feeds off on power and privilege that is dependent upon race. This system uses disparities between races in order to profit in its economy. Society often overlooks where the problem persists and very often, it is in the most innocent of places where this problem feeds off on. For instance, in academia the problem is subtle, but it is one that has the most severe consequences for students that are not white. Also, one of the major consequences experienced by students of color is the rise of mental illness. I am part of the group of students of color that has experienced institutionalized racism. The system often gets overlooked because of the belief that this system is not present in academia. In reality, the system implants its roots as soon as a child begins school and from there the roots expand as the child moves up in grade level. Institutionalized racism in academia and its effect on mental health for students of color is important because America needs to acknowledge that this system harms students that are not white.
In her article “The Cost of Balancing Academia and Racism”, Adrienne Green points out that institutionalized racism combined with academia has very adverse

Get Access