Systemic Oppression

The term “systemic oppression” refers to the intentional mistreatment or disadvantaging of a group of people based on some aspect of their identity. This can be based on a number of different characteristics—including gender, sexuality, disability, religion, and nationality—but in recent discourse the focus has largely been on the oppression of people of color, especially Black Americans. These systems of oppression take place at the personal, societal, and institutional level, and they lead to people in underserved groups having fewer opportunities and facing more obstacles in their day-to-day lives, from struggling to find adequate housing, education, and employment, to having unequal access to adequate food and health care. The viewpoints in this title examine the forms systemic oppression takes, who is responsible for this oppression, the extent to which it continues to be an issue in contemporary America, and potential solutions for bringing an end to it.