Racial Equality and Racial Equity why it’s Important

We can reflect on the past several years and the political views that have opened many to the systemic and racial injustices that people of color have known for generations.

First, we have to frame why it is important and acknowledge the challenges that we as a community have around effectively communicating issues reflecting race. As a whole people have had a narrow and very individual perspective about what racism is or isn’t. If people could create a common narrative to communicate the issues around racial equity and equality it can create a better platform to have robust and productive conversations and create actual change in society.

Equity is defined as “the quality of being fair or impartial.”  It is also attached to the words, fairness and impartiality. To thoroughly achieve and sustain equity you have to think of this as the bases and a framework. When we think about equality, we define this as the quality or state of being equal. However, when looking at equity and equality. Equality ensures that everyone has the same thing. This can be seen in the Jim Crow era when equality was given for people of color to be able to utilize the same water fountain or have access to the same educational system. However, equity tries to understand how to give people fairness and justice allowing a level playing field.

The way that our system has been built has been on a hierarchy model. Yes, we have a democracy which allows for people to have a vote and say however, we can see a hierarchy within how our system has operated. America has prioritized white, heterosexual, men at the top of the hierarchy, it follows white, heterosexual, women. In America, Black men, women and Indigenous people of color have not been prioritized within the hierarchy system. In conjunction, there is also economic classes that intersect with race. These levels of hierarchy causes division amongst the groups which breeds conflict. This has been seen with the division within the United States and led the current wealth gap.

At this time the demographics of the United States has rapidly changed. When we talk about history and racial inequality, it is described in a way that reflects that it happened a “long time ago.” However, the reality for most minorities is, the racial disparities are still occurring and occurred within the last few generations inclusive of our grandparents. Stories from our grandparents and great grandparents have included lynching, segregation, racially charged beatings, and un-just policies/laws.

An example of the importance would be Brown vs. The Board of Education, because of the lack of black and brown faces in certain areas and communities, social structures, many didn’t feel that the topic of the need of appropriate education was necessary and worth addressing. The change in the system was met with anger and hostility because of the unknown and uncomfortable and challenged peoples pre-conceived thoughts and misconceptions. This is why racial equity and equality is important to challenge these thoughts and to ensure that everyone has a voice at the table and the voice is heard and responded to in an appropriate matter.

In-fact this is what the basis of social work is. Not just with race but with economic structure of the low, middle and upper class. The structure of how we engage with the mentally ill, chemically dependent or the LGBTQ+ communities. It starts with race because this regardless of your economic status, mental health, dependencies or sexual/gender orientation, people see your skin color first and this in America sets the bar for how you are judged and treated within those other areas.

It is time that we break the already broken cycle. It is time for people to be able to not fear walking down the street or being judged based off appearance. It is time for law to reflect what it says and what it does.