Why is it that when we see a black man in oversized clothes, we get scared? Why is it when we see Mexicans working hard in the fields, we don’t empathize? Why is it that we see a man wearing a turban, especially when in an airport, we get anxious? Why is it when we see a white man in a suit, we feel safe? The answer to all these questions is simple: society has trained us as to whom we should fear and whom we should embrace. In other words, we have been manipulated by society to be—among many other things—racist. I know that most individuals cringe at the word "racist," and would never admit to being racist, but the truth is that despite the color of your skin, as “Americans” we live in a society that embraces “systematic racism," which is defined as a society that has racism that works through their policies, practices, rules, among other ways that function throughout institutions in a society including, but not limited to schools, housing, and prisons.

The recent killings of Tanisha Anderson, Pedro Villanueva, Melissa Ventura, Anthony Neñez, Trayvon Martin, Aura Rosser, Eric Garner, Meagan Hockaday, Walter Scott, and most recently Charles Kinsey are great examples of systematic racism. In these cases, the use of excessive force is apparent, but the majority of society did not view it like this. Despite these events, many people continue to deny that racism exists and rationalize these killings, as well as other racial atrocities, by claiming that these brown/black individuals deserved what they got. Some people even go to the extreme to rationalize the killings/shootings by saying, for example, “they deserved it” because “they were not following police orders.” Although this dangerous rhetoric against folks of color has been in existence for years, it has been especially explicit recently.

One of the big hopes of this article is to shine light on an important topic (racism in the academy). Fellow scholars like Jabari Mahiri and Laurie Gries address similar work on racism, thus expanding the conversation about systematic racism. In Mahiri’s work, he addresses the presence of white supremacy rhetoric in the construction of race and how although the idea of race is not based in science, its influence is strongly felt, which specifically pushes me to think about the idea of “systematic racism” and how racism operates within the United States. Gries’s work, which deals with swastikas and hatred, on the other hand, has pushed me to think of specific examples of racist rhetoric, such as that produced by President Trump (i.e. building the wall, ban on Muslims). While critically thinking about these scholars’ work, my own essay centers on the hatred faced by people of color, where this hatred comes from, and what I (we) can do about it as scholars.

To further understand racism, or specifically “systematic racism,” one must understand that racism is strongly embedded within the United States’ history. One only needs to look at how America was founded to see how racism first appeared. For example, United States history clearly shows that Native Americans were living in what is now called the United States for thousands of years before European colonists arrived. Guided by the misconception of Manifest Destiny, Europeans expanded westward, killing thousands of Native Americans and stealing their land.

Owning slaves is another clear example of how white supremacy was established in the United States, which led to the basic foundation of “systematic racism.” “Owning” an individual meant that an individual was not looked at as human, but instead viewed as property. To some surprise, many of the United States presidents—including, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James Madison, and James Monroe, among others—owned slaves; thus, it is unlikely that these individuals believed that African Americans were equal to European Americans. What is ironic again about all this is that this information is not taught in many schools, thus making it extremely difficult for most Americans to learn the true history. Instead, students are frequently taught that our past United States presidents were all good, non-racist human beings who believed that all people were created equal. However, knowing that Washington owned 317 slaves, Jefferson owned 200 slaves, Jackson owned 200 slaves, Madison owned 100 slaves, and Monroe owned 75 slaves, it is easy to assume that these former presidents did not view African Americans as equal to White Americans or else they would have never owned African American slaves. What is surprising to know is that according to history books, and school curricula, these presidents were the same people who fought against slavery, which contradicts research claiming that these presidents owned slaves during this same time.

Racism against Mexican Americans is another example of the inequities among brown and white folks, which is just as prominent as the racism against African Americans. A quick look at history shows that soon after Europeans arrived in the United States, their desire to move westward (Manifest Destiny) meant that along with stealing thousands of acres of land that belonged to Native Americans, as well as killing Native Americans, Europeans also stole a third of the land that belonged to Mexico, including current California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and parts of Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Even after the Mexican American war, and specifically the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the hatred/racism against Mexican Americans amplified. This can perhaps be best seen through the actual repealing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (signed on February 2, 1848) and other agreements, like the granting of United States citizenship to all Mexican citizens who lived in the “New United States,” as well as providing property and civil rights to Mexicans. This proved disastrous because as the number of Mexicans grew, so did the hatred against them. Unfortunately this is what set the racist foundation against Mexicans.