1/ A quick story about systemic racism:

I visited my parents this and two of my aunts (my father’s sisters) are staying with them just to be safe.

I always ask them about growing up and the difficulties they faced. We also discussed the racism and sexism of the times.

2/ While discussing systemic racism, my aunt shared a story about how she worked for a credit union and loan office in the 70s and early 80s. She told me how she was instructed to write “-15” on all applicants who were people of color regardless of any other factors.

3/ She said how after doing this for hundreds of applicants she finally asked her boss what it meant and why she had to do it. Her boss told her that they automatically subtract 15 points for their scoring system and pretty much guaranteed that POC would not be approved.

4/ My aunt got emotional saying how many lives of deserving people were denied opportunities because they were black.