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Institutional Discrimination

Discrimination is the negative treatment of one individual or group by another individual or group based upon some characteristic of that group, such as gender, race or ethnicity, or age because of a belief that the characteristic justifies such negative treatment. Institutional discrimination occurs when that negative or unfair treatment takes place at or is performed by an institution as a result not of individual belief but as a result of the structure, organization, or practices of that institution. Scholars, policymakers, and members of the general population have struggled with the effects and significance of racial and ethnic discrimination in the multiethnic, multiracial U.S. society, one that is based on equality and, in theory, praises and accepts differences, yet so often accepts and at times promotes both individual and institutional discrimination.

As described in this entry, institutional discrimination may be more difficult to detect than individual discrimination and is certainly more difficult to address precisely because it requires a review or analysis of the practices, policies, and structure of what are often complex and multilayered bodies: institutions. These institutions may be public, such as governments or government agencies, schools, or public universities, or they may be private, such as businesses, private colleges or universities, corporations, or media outlets.

Racism and Institutional Discrimination

Individual discrimination is an almost natural result or outgrowth of racism, which is the belief that one group of people is inherently superior to another. When a person has such a belief concerning members of another race, and sometimes another ethnic group, that belief makes the person feel justified in pursuing negative, often harmful acts that others see as discrimination. In the case of institutional discrimination, the negative or harmful behavior may not be the result of individual racism or of the beliefs of individuals currently involved with the institution; nevertheless, the negative impact is felt by members of the race or ethnic group affected.

The Housing Case

When the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) preferred to guarantee home mortgages in “stable” neighborhoods or for newer homes, as was the case as early as the 1940s, it practiced institutional discrimination. Blacks were far more likely than Whites to live in less stable neighborhoods because of both a lack of money and individual discrimination, which limited their housing choices and their employment opportunities. Further, Blacks were far less likely than were Whites to be able to afford to purchase newer homes because of a significant degree of discrimination in the labor market at that time. As a result, Blacks were far less likely than were Whites to receive the FHA guarantees. This all had a negative impact on their housing options and choices and ultimately on the neighborhoods in which they lived.

Although the U.S. government had guidelines for the FHA that clearly indicated a preference for supporting single-race neighborhoods, the practice of supporting mortgage lending for newer homes or in “stable” neighborhoods was institutional discrimination. It may or may not have been the result of the racism or beliefs of any individual connected to the FHA at that time. Indeed, it may have been just a wise business decision, given that newer homes and homes in more stable neighborhoods are better investments.

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