Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
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Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#2Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#31. If you sincerely want an answer to this, it's easy to find arguments on either side. I don't think HN is an appropriate venue for it, which is why I flagged it (not because the question upsets me or anything -- curiosity is great!)
2. Systems can be racist in the absence of laws. For example, there are still many whites-only country clubs in the US, and there's no law enforcing that. Schools punish Black children more severely for the same behaviors. Those are just small examples -- there are many.
3. You may benefit from existing discussions on this same topic, such as this one:
https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/her5hb/cmv_sy...
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#4I'm not sure if you will get a rational, unbiased answer on this orange website without flamewars or users mentioning wildly utopian ideas.
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#5As Morgan Freeman says, it doesn't. https://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-freeman-race-is-excus...
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#6I rationalize that sales of hair relaxer/straightener is reverse racist - - I call for a ban on all sales of hair relaxer so that women of color can stop trying to imitate white women.
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#7Racism in the US like most other places is no longer based on codified law, but rather how laws are applied and personal prejudices.
While there are no longer laws that say "Whites can but Blacks can't", there are clearly laws that intentionally or un-intentionally impact some people more than others.
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#8While only covering one specific subject - local, state, and federal housing policies - _The Color of Law_ has a wealth of intentional, _de jure_ examples and their systemic, self-perpetuating, multi-generational impacts.
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#9It's also important to keep in mind the distinction between _law_ and _policy_. The way the question is phrased sounds a bit like you're asking someone to pull out the big dusty book of "The Law" and find you a section, page, and paragraph number. That expectation doesn't quite seem accurate or productive.
Re: Ask HN: How is the US systemically racist, specifically? What laws are codified?
#10If you want to understand the theory and premise behind systemic racism in the US, Wikipedia and Google can provide you with numerous avenues from which to begin your research.