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New video: Racism in America by the Numbers

The playlist discussed at the end of the video. (If you have suggestions for others, share them!)

SOURCES:

On average, black men’s prison sentences are 20% longer than white men’s for comparable crimes.

Black people and white people use illegal drugs at similar rates, but black people are far more likely to be arrested for drug use.

African Americans are far more likely to be stopped and searched (although the contraband hit rate is higher among white people) in California.

And also in New York (where the data isn’t quite as good but appears to be comparable to CA).

Those wrongfully convicted and later exonerated by DNA are disproportionately African American.

Black kids are far more likely to be tried as adults and more likely to receive life sentences.

Black former convicts get fewer employer callbacks than white former convicts.

Emily and Brendan are more hirable than Lakisha and Jamal.

Another study on racial bias in hiring.

Similar results have been found in the UK: and also in Australia. Also, this news story has some great analysis about employment and race. 

High schools with mostly African American and Latino students are less likely to offer courses in Algebra II or Chemistry than high schools with mostly white students.

This article explores many of the other ways that increasingly segregated schools have negatively affected African American students.

And this story discusses the fact that African American students are more than twice as likely to be suspended as white students—even in preschool.

The American College of Physicians report on racial disparities in U.S. health care.

This (dated) study is also damning, and there’s lot of good info here.

More info on increasing disparities in life expectancy between black and white people in the U.S.

The most recent polls show fewer white people thinking racism is not a problem than the ones I used in this video MY BAD (although still a huge divide): here and here and here.

Inheritance plays a huge role in the racial wealth disparity. (And a related wikipedia article.)

And lastly, the wealth gap is indeed widening. 

Sorry for the wall of text, but I wanted to make sure I sourced everything. 

The thing that struck me most in this video is how much I still don’t understand when it comes to knowing how deeply racism is rooted in American society. Hearing out the individual stories of people is so necessary – so here are some of the things that I’ve read and listened to recently that offer perspectives from those who feel and live the effects of racism. I’ll try to add to this list, and please send over any suggestions:

I Don’t Know What to Do With Good White People by Brit Bennett

Black Boy Interrupted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and The Case for Reparations by Coates, the latter of which is less of a personal account than the former but is nonetheless inimitable.

This American Life: Is This Working? (particularly Act 1)

Radiolab: Ally’s Choice

Sarah (who designed the cover of An Abundance of Katherines when she was 17) was among many people who offered helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this video. Her links are all great—I was especially moved by that TAL episode.