How Structural Racism Works

This lecture course is an exploration of structural racism: the normalized and legitimized range of policies, practices, and attitudes that routinely produce cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. With a special focus on African-Americans in the post Civil Rights Era, we will explore how structural racism “works” intersectionally and in compounded ways in housing, criminal justice, education, employment, and media. We will also consider cultural, political and social challenges to structural racism as well as the the role and impact of colorblind ideology and behavioralism as dominant countervailing explanations for racial disparities.