But you already know that.

Actually, do you know that? Do you know what institutional racism even is? Here's my "even the dumbest of dumb idiots couldn't possibly be confused" definition: racism is the belief that one's race inherently makes them better than people who are not that race, and the subsequent discrimination, prejudice and intolerance of others based on that belief. Institutions are things like the government, the police, heath care, education. A little math tells us that institutional racism is when racism is sewn into the fabric of our institutions. Get it?

You've probably already figured this out, but this only positively impacts white people. Being born white in America is like running a marathon, but you get aaaaaaaaallllllll the credit for finishing 26.2 miles and winning the race even though you got a 26 mile head start.

"But Zach, this is America! Everyone has a fair shot. What about the American Dream?" WRONG. The American Dream is for white people. Because white people created the institutions and the laws that govern the institutions and all of the opportunity provided by those institutions skews heavily toward white folks, and has for centuries.

You don't have to be a detective to pick up on this.

Don't just take my word for it. Ask [checks notes] Ben & Jerry's. While the American Dream might not be equal opportunity, the Americone Dream damn sure is. This is basically post inception because I'm linking you to a post that links you to articles and research, but here are a few nuggets:

  • For every $100 white families earn, black families earn $57.30.
  • Black people make up 13% of the population, but 40% of the incarcerated population, are convicted far more often and face harsher sentences for lesser crimes than white people.
  • Guess who has lower access to quality education? Quality healthcare?
  • Ever heard of Redlining? It was (and in more subtle ways still is) denial of access to essential capital, like home loans, targeted at communities of color.
  • Police brutality. That's it. That's the bullet point.

Here's a quick experiment - search for all the unarmed black men murdered by police, then compare that with all the white mass shooters who were arrested peacefully (and even given a f*cking Whopper on the way to jail).

So, we've put our black and brown communities at an insane disadvantage, applied enough pressure to turn coal into diamonds, and then feign consternation in the rare times we happen to be exposed to the results? We're critical of people locked in extreme poverty by the very institutions we've created? We're critical of people forced to make dangerous decisions every single day to try to stay alive? White people lit the fire (by way of institutions), have pretended to put it out while pouring gasoline and are blaming the people engulfed in flames.

I made this meme on the spot because of the previous sentence. 

The important thing is to recognize and own the fact that if you're white in America, you already made it. It was predetermined for you. Yeah, yeah white people can struggle too. But they don't have all the force of every American institution conspiring against them. We challenged black people to a game of Uno after we  took all the Draw 4 cards out of the deck.

I'm not trying to say it's your fault. You didn't personally cause any of this. But it should make you want to remedy centuries of unfathomable wrongdoing imposed on people of color.

I recently attended a presidential gun sense forum and of all the things that stood out, two experiences particularly stuck with me.

One was just being exposed, in person, to the overwhelming grief of black mothers whose children have been stolen by gun violence in the exact communities that have been set up to fail. Black mothers are the strongest people I've ever met, and it's not close.

The second was a conversation with a young black man from Baltimore who is trying to change the stigma around communities like his. I asked him quite simply how a white guy like me could help, and he said write about it so here we are. I learned so much in a short time about the sheer pressure in his world and the obvious links to systemic racism. There is no one better to tell those stories than the people who live it so I won't begin to try, but I will absolutely elevate them wherever I can.

Here's what I want you to do: read everything you can by Ta-Nehisi Coates. He's brilliant and engrossing and one of the best writers I've ever come across. Ultimately, white people need to do more to listen to the experiences of people subjected to the pressures of institutional racism. And they need to accept the responsibility that comes with hitting the skin color jackpot.

Maybe do that after you donate a cup of coffee worth of cash to the Equal Justice Initiative.

They provide legal support to people who have been wrongfully treated by our criminal justice system, provide reentry assistance to formerly incarcerated people and really fight to help impoverished communities and change the narrative around race in America.  They also work with policy makers and advocates on criminal justice reform (yes, please).

Good news: 92% of all funds raised go directly into the core programs the Equal Justice Initiative supports. The cost to raise $100 is $1. One dollar. All of this gives them an A+ grade from Charity Watch and that's a report card worth hanging on the fridge. It's also worth your donation.