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Does racism really exist in East TN?


YES!

What is racism?

Institutional racism is an anonymous, subtle and systemic discrimination base on race. The policies and practices of institutional racism can be found in many of our community’s most important systems – educational, political, criminal justice, and economic.

Because racism in East Tennessee is frequently not blatant, many whites and some people of color do not believe it exists. However, dramatic differences in perception between the races –on racism itself- further widen the racial divide. In Fact, Persons of color populations in the nine counties range from 1.5% in Union County to 12% in Knox County, significantly below the national average of 30%. Yet, despite their relatively small numbers, they lag significantly behind whites in per capita and household income and far outstrip whites in poverty level, criminal arrests and unemployment.