Answer:
Yes, sadly.
Explanation:
There are about seven factors contributing to racism in the US today. The first three factors are:
1. categories, which organize people into distinct groups;
2. factions, which trigger ingroup loyalty and intergroup competition; and
3. segregation, which hardens racist perceptions, preferences and beliefs.
Simply put, the US systematically constructs racial categories, places people inside of those categories, and segregates people on the basis of those categories. For example, there is a considerable body of research showing that people, adults and children alike, tend to feel and act more positively toward those they consider to be like them and in their “ingroup.” This means that they are likely to treat people from outside of their social circles less favorably.
The remaining four factors the researchers argue contribute to American racism include:
4. hierarchy, which emboldens people to think, feel, and behave in racist ways;
5. power, which legislates racism on both micro and macro levels;
6. media, which legitimizes overrepresented and idealized representations of white Americans while marginalizing and minimizing people of color; and
7. passivism, such that overlooking or denying the existence of racism encourages others to do the same.
In short, they argue that the US positions and empowers some over others, reinforces those differences through biased media, and then leaves those disparities and media in place. Of the seven factors identified, perhaps the most insidious is passivism or passive racism. This includes an apathy toward systems of racial advantage or denial that those systems even exist.
