What is systemic racism?

A system is a collection of elements that are organized for a common purpose. Racism in America is a system that combines economic, political, and social components. That system specifically disempowers and disenfranchises Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, while maintaining and expanding implicit and explicit advantages for white people, leading to better opportunities in jobs, education, and housing, and discrimination in the criminal legal system.

How does the ACLU address systemic racism?

The ACLU leverages legal advocacy to dismantle systemic barriers, and work with our affiliates to change policies nearer to the communities most harmed by these legacies of systemic racism. The goal is to build a nation where every person can achieve their highest potential, unhampered by structural and institutional racism.

News & Commentary about Racial Justice

The Racial Justice Program (RJP) fights to eradicate racial injustice in the U.S. and works to foster a society in which people of color and communities of color have full access to the rights and benefits of American society. Working with affected communities, RJP litigates, advocates, and educates to strike at the roots of racial injustice.

Learn more

A student presenting in front of a diverse classroom.

Apr 22, 2025

Educators Speak Out on Harms of Unlawful Education Department Directive

Apr 11, 2025

Know Your Right To Transportation Justice with Deborah Archer and Sister Helen Jones

A group of voting rights advocates marching over the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Mar 24, 2025

Anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ Marks Continued Fight for Voting Rights

Mar 21, 2025

Trump's Attempt to Deride NLRB Won't Stop Power of Collective Actions

The exterior of the the Education Department (ED) headquarters in Washington, DC.

Mar 14, 2025

Trump's Department of Education Attack Explained

Protesters in front of the Supreme Court hold signs that read, "Diversity, Opportunity, Justice", "ACLU, WE THE PEOPLE", "Affirmative Action YES!" and "Asians for Affirmative Action".

Feb 27, 2025

DEI and Accessibility, Explained

A smiling Leah Watson (a black woman wearing glasses, black business attire and a pin on her left shoulder stands next to a woman wearing a white flower dress wearing glasses and black) gathers for a picture with colleagues.

Feb 27, 2025

'We Have to Reclaim Race and Racism'

Civil Rights March, Washington DC. on August 28, 1963.

Feb 24, 2025

The Infrastructure of Racial Justice Is Under Attack. We Must Fight for It

A group of high school students wearing blue shirts reading "DISSENT IS PATRIOTIC" pose for the camera.

Feb 20, 2025

What Students Lose When School Becomes a Political Battleground

Several hands raising, one of which belongs to a Black person.

Jan 24, 2025

Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained

DEMOCRACY

JUSTICE

LIBERTY

News & Commentary about Racial Justice