systemic racism

noun

: the oppression of a racial group to the advantage of another as perpetuated by inequity within interconnected systems (such as political, economic, and social systems)

especially : white supremacy sense 2

Systemic racism is a machine that runs whether we pull the levers or not, and by just letting it be, we are responsible for what it produces. We have to actually dismantle the machine if we want to make change.

—Ijeoma Oluo

… systemic racism is far more than a matter of racial prejudice and individual bigotry. It is a material, social, and ideological reality that is well-imbedded in major U.S. institutions.

—Joe R. Feagin

Arguably, the seminal civil rights issue of our time is the systemic racism permeating the criminal "justice" system. The Black Lives Matter movement has brought to national attention the fact that people of color are disproportionately targeted by police stops, arrests, and police violence.

—Leah Penniman

Our nation faces a fork in the road and a decision to either continue down the same path of systemic racism or to confront our past honestly.

—Bree Newsome

Doing away with the Senate filibuster would not, of course, mean the end of systemic racism. But it would make anti-racist policies far easier to pass than they are today, and it would help dismantle both the legacy and machinery of Jim Crow.

—David Litt

Many Black homeowners have reported that their homes are being valued at far less—sometimes $500,000 less—when appraisers know that the homeowners are Black. This means untold millions have disappeared from the Black community. This is systemic racism at work …

—Touré

systemically racist adjective

The film also shows how systemically racist rules like redlining continue to benefit one set of descendants while slowly destroying another.

—Odie Henderson

Examples of systemic racism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Poverty and a lack of trust in the police, both of which are more prominent in communities of color, can hinder solving crimes, as can systemic racism, Solinas-Saunders said. —Amy Lavalley, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025

Twenty years ago, the storm devastated New Orleans and exposed the fatal convergence of environmental collapse, systemic racism and government neglect. —Melissa Jun Rowley, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025

The Lucky Ones centers on Joseph and Mary Tape, immigrants who defied systemic racism in 19th century San Francisco to demand equal rights for their children. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2025

Coming just a few years after many industries and companies loudly proclaimed their commitments to ending systemic racism and creating a more level playing field, the backlash to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is now in full swing. —Adia Harvey Wingfield, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025

Yet, like Black Wall Streets, Freedom Colonies faced destruction through systemic racism, land theft, and economic displacement. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 16 Aug. 2025

John Henryism involves pressure not just to be good but to be impossibly good—superhuman, better than a machine, whether the machine is literal (the steam drill) or figurative (systemic racism). —Leslie Jamison, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025

But, similar to the use of Critical Race Theory or CRT in politics, DEI has also become a shorthand among conservatives for any effort to address systemic racism’s role in U.S. history or politics. —Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 19 Feb. 2025

In the meantime, Black Californians search for light under systemic racism’s long shadow. —Justin Phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Oct. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for systemic racism

• absolutism
• adventurism
• aestheticism
• africanism
• agnosticism
• alcoholism
• anabolism
• anachronism
• anglicanism
• antagonism
• arianism
• asceticism