I attended last week’s Breakfast Club and viewed the Missouri History Museum’s new exhibit, Race: Are we so Different?” It was truly eye-opening, and I consider myself someone who tries to be educated about diversity. Some of the topics presented there have never been presented to me in such clear fashion, such as just how normal (for lack of a better word) discrimination was at one time. One gentleman from the south described realizing in his 30’s that some of the things he did and had been taught to do growing up were actually discrimination. These videotaped personal stories looked at discrimination from many different perspectives and really showed how pervasive discrimination was and still is in our society.

 For me, probably the clearest image I will keep with me was a story about institutional racism that helped more clearly define the term for me and helped me realize that institutional racism affects everyone. The story discussed a hypothetical bank loan officer. This person does not see themselves as racist and tries not to discriminate. However, the bank has policies that it gives loans at higher rates to people buying homes in certain neighborhoods. So a black couple may have a more difficult time finding an affordable mortgage than a white couple because of the neighborhood in which they want to purchase their home. After seeing the video, I have no doubt this played to my advantage when my wife and I bought a home this summer. The realtor referred to the neighborhood as “nice” and we had no trouble getting a good rate. Then when I thought about my neighbors (the few I’ve met so far) I can only think of a few minority families. Some other neighborhoods not far from us are not considered as nice and have a higher percentage of black families living there. It makes me wonder what I would have paid for my mortgage if I had purchased there. 

This kind of institutional and somewhat hidden racism affects us all in some way and it is important that each of us recognize how it affects us and admit that it does. It seems to me that if we are going to continue to make progress in creating truly equal opportunities for all Americans, the first step is recognizing that we are ALL affected by racism whether it works to our advantage or to our disadvantage, and that we all have some bias. Once we make those realizations, then we can take the next steps together to help eliminate racism.

I would highly recommend everyone see this exhibit.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone else seen the exhibit and liked it or didn’t?