Racism persists against many racial and ethnic groups. For example, Black people are significantly more likely to have their vehicles searched during traffic stops than White people, particularly when Black individuals are driving in predominately White neighborhoods, (a phenomenon often termed “DWB,” or “driving while Black.”) (Rojek, Rosenfeld, & Decker, 2012). Black people are more likely than White people to be arrested during a police interaction (Kochel, Wilson, and Mastrofski, 2011; Lytle, 2014), and death due to police violence is 3 to 5 times higher in Black people compared to non-Hispanic White (GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators, 2021). Racism in policing has historical and multifaceted influences, including the police being the enforcement arm of historical racist legislation such as Jim Crow Laws, racism and implicit bias in individual police officers, as well as policies that increase police presence and punitive approaches in predominately Black communities (Committee on Proactive Policing, 2001). In the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement has worked to bring attention and call for reform to address police brutality and racial bias in law enforcement.

Mexican Americans and other Latino groups also are targets of racism from the police and other members of the community. For example, when purchasing items with a personal check, Latino shoppers are more likely than White shoppers to be asked to show formal identification (Dovidio et al., 2010). Although there is proportionately less research on Hispanic-American police interactions, studies show that this population is at risk for discriminatory policing (Weitzer, 2013). In one case, several East Haven, Connecticut police officers were arrested and later convicted for federal charges due to reportedly continued harassment and brutalization of Latinos, including unreasonable search and seizures, excessive force, false reports, and unfair targeting of Latinos. Of importance was that many of the victims of this were undocumented immigrants, making them much more vulnerable to police without the safety to report abuses for fear of deportation. This case was notoriously mishandled and diminished by then-mayor Joseph Maturo Jr., highlighting how police discrimination and racially-biased violence can be influenced and even legitimized by systemic power structures, as well as how discrimination influences the execution and perception of justice (“East Haven Mayor,” 2012).

Racism is prevalent toward many other groups in the United States including Native Americans, Arab Americans, Jewish Americans, and Asian Americans. Have you witnessed racism toward any of these racial or ethnic groups? Are you aware of racism in your community?

One reason modern forms of racism, and prejudice in general, are hard to detect is related to the dual attitudes model (Wilson, Lindsey, & Schooler, 2000). Humans have two forms of attitudes: explicit attitudes, which are conscious and controllable, and implicit attitudes, which are unconscious and uncontrollable (Devine, 1989; Olson & Fazio, 2003). Because holding egalitarian views is socially desirable (Plant & Devine, 1998), most people do not show extreme racial bias or other prejudices on measures of their explicit attitudes. However, measures of implicit attitudes often show evidence of mild to strong racial bias or other prejudices (Greenwald, McGee, & Schwartz, 1998; Olson & Fazio, 2003).

Research by Laurie Rudman (1998) finds that when female job applicants self-promote, they are likely to be viewed as competent, but they may be disliked and are less likely to be hired because they violated gender expectations for modesty. Sexism can exist on a societal level such as in hiring, employment opportunities, and education. Women are less likely to be hired or promoted in male-dominated professions such as engineering, aviation, and construction (Figure 2) (Blau, Ferber, & Winkler, 2010; Ceci & Williams, 2011). Have you ever experienced or witnessed sexism? Think about your family members’ jobs or careers. Why do you think there are differences in the jobs women and men have, such as more women nurses but more male surgeons (Betz, 2008)?