I am responding to a letter in last week’s paper titled “Racial equity policy seems counterproductive.” Racism has been institutionalized in this country since its inception. Racism is systemic in the U.S. in our policies and institutions for housing, healthcare, employment, banking, education, city planning, transportation access/routing, pipeline routing and politics, to name a few. It is often hard to see because it has been there for so long and it has just been the practice of how these institutions were set up and perpetuate difference in access and opportunity. It is the water we swim in at a temperature so perfect we don’t even feel it.

The racial equity policy at VISD, I believe, can make us more aware of the water. It can shine a light on ways in which we continue to perpetuate racial inequality and move us beyond functioning this way. The goal would be that someday we no longer need a policy because we swim in racial equity and don’t even feel it. We aren’t there yet by a long shot, so a policy to bring awareness and guide us out of systemic racism within the education system is welcomed by me.

Listening to the experiences of people of color who have been or currently are in the VISD is a way to get a sense of how racism manifests here in our school district. I didn’t feel like I was racist as an individual, but looking more deeply I am getting beyond the hurt of seeing white privilege and white supremacy and am seeing how my actions or inactions can contribute to the perpetuation of institutionalized racism.

— Cathy deSmet