Institutional Racism

King George III
All trussed up and ready to face his Trial by Modern Standards. We wish all historical Plushies the best of luck.

​Institutional racism refers to the policies, rules and practices of an institution resulting in unfairness based on race. To complain about institutional racism you need to show that the racism has produced an unfair outcome for your race. The problem is not the race-based treatment in itself, but the unfairness of the outcome. We like racism, as long as it produces advantageous outcomes for us.

This means that there is a right way and a wrong way to do racism. If racism produces good outcomes, that's called Woke Racism or Racism 2.0 and it's what we want to encourage. We want everyone to be racist, as long as they follow the woke guidelines. If racism produces unfair outcomes, that's called institutional racism and it's wrong, so compensation will have to be paid.

Good examples of Racism 2.0 are emerging daily. The BBC leads the way in showing how you can do racial stereotyping by learning how to recognise a real black person. You don't go by the colour of their skin, as that isn't rigorous enough. You also check what they're eating and whether they listen to gangsta rap. It's for a good cause. How can you help black people, if you can't correctly identify them?

The BBC's diversity chief has claimed Idris Elba's TV detective Luther 'isn't black enough to be real' because 'he doesn't have any black friends and doesn't eat any Caribbean food'.

​Luther's creator and writer Neil Cross expressed surprise, insisting that Elba only took the role in the first place because race was not considered important to the character.

Mr Cross, who is white, said: 'I have no knowledge or expertise or right to try to tackle in some way the experience of being a black man in modern Britain.

​Daily Mail
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Mr Cross has probably not yet done his mandatory diversity training, which includes instructions on how to depict black people in a stereotypical way. We need to get the racism right. In future maybe Mr Cross could do a pencil test to ensure that he has cast all the black people correctly.

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The pencil test is a method of assessing whether a person has Afro-textured hair. In the pencil test, a pencil is pushed through the person's hair. How easily it comes out determines whether the person has "passed" or "failed" the test.

This test was used to determine racial identity in South Africa during the apartheid era, distinguishing whites from coloureds and blacks. 

​Wikipedia.

Being racist is fine, if your intention is to help black people by giving them authentic television roles.

​The Bush Theatre offers bursaries of £7,500 to theatre-makers with 'Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee' status. No whites, in other words.

So there it is. Systemic racism but with a smiley face. A different sort of systemic racism. Kind, caring, helpful systemic racism. Trying its best. But the result is the same – a colour bar against white people.

Can't wait to book front row seats at the theatre?

Being racist is only wrong if you try to do it institutionally. A good example of institutional racism is the old Jim Crow era. The law distinguished between black and white people, for example designating black schools and white schools and forcing everyone to attend the school appointed for their race. Trains would run white and black carriages and if the carriage designated for your race was full you'd just have to wait for the next train. Public facilities would have signs saying 'Whites Only' and the police would definitely enforce that. Probably by shooting you. The legal framework itself was based on race. Although it worked to a theory of 'separate but equal' the facilities were not in fact equal. Thus the civil rights movement was born. Lesson: you have to do segregation properly, and make sure all the racial facilities are truly equal. As Martin Luther King Jr said: "We want people to continue being judged by the colour of their skin, but with equal facilities". Jim Crow 2.0 - where the segregation is fair and the outcomes are equal.

Another good example: apartheid South Africa. In addition to the pencil test, the law required you to carry an ID card which stated your race, and your access to public services or where you could live or the jobs you could apply for would be designated according to your race. That was fine, but unfortunately it turned out that there were marvellous public services for whites and no services for blacks. Middling services for other races in between. So the system had to go. As Nelson Mandela said: "we want apartheid to work better, with equal facilities for the separate races". Apartheid 2.0 - where the racism produces fair outcomes. 

Now, suppose you live in England and you want to check whether England is doing racism properly. The test is whether you like the outcomes. First find out which laws and institutions designate entitlements according to race. A good example is the Equality Act 2010 which states that if someone treats you differently because of your race you can sue them and get a bunch of money as compensation for your protected characteristics. The Equality Act grants you special entitlements and protections based on race, but since the outcomes are quite pleasant this means the racism is being correctly enforced. 

Another good institutional example in the UK is the NHS. The NHS is very good at doing racism because it encourages white people to train as White Allies on pain of being strung up, and ensures that public health policies such as the vaccine rollout are implemented on racial lines. You tell the NHS your race, and based on that they determine whether you should go to the front or the back of the queue. They keep clear records, mapping the vaccine rollout according to race, so that if anyone wants to check whether racism is being done properly they can just request the race records. Every week an update is published with data tracking the progress of each race under the race-based free health care segregation. Entitlements designated by race are the classic form of racism, and NHS racism is to be admired because the outcomes are fair.

The National Trust must also get plaudits for great efforts to do racism properly. They are struggling to get in black people to enjoy the stately homes and gardens, but by putting up plaques about the evils of whiteness they hope to lure more black people in. You know what black people are looking for on a day out - we love nothing better than wandering about reading plaques about historical grievances and learning why the gardens are racist. Put up the plaques, and we'll come. Maybe play a bit of gangsta rap, serve fried plantains, a bit more stereotyping wouldn't be a bad idea. As a bonus, this will put off the white people from visiting, thus balancing out the racial quota among visitors. Result.

Welcome to the new segregation! Where we treat people differently based on their race, as long as we are happy with the outcome.