Deconstructing Racism

Understanding how racism was constructed—and how we can work to dismantle it.

Deconstructing Racism is the Community Coalition on Race's in-depth educational series exploring the history, systems, and structures that have created and sustained racial inequity in the United States. The program provides participants with the knowledge and tools to better understand how racism operates—not only through individual attitudes and actions, but through institutions, policies, cultural narratives, and practices that continue to shape American life.

Before we can talk about deconstructing racism, we must understand how it was constructed. Through facilitated discussion, historical context, research, guest scholars, and current events, participants examine the development of white supremacist ideology, how it became embedded in American institutions and public policy, and its continuing impact on people of color, white people, and our nation as a whole.

What We Explore

Topics vary from year to year and may include:

• The history and construction of race and racism in America
• Structural and systemic racism
• The culture of white supremacy and how it is maintained
• The relationship between race, public policy, and institutional practices
• Racial stereotypes and narratives and their consequences
• The impact of racism on communities and our democracy
• Contemporary challenges to racial equity and efforts to obscure or erase racial history
• Individual and collective strategies for recognizing, disrupting, and dismantling racism

The series has also brought nationally recognized scholars and thought leaders into conversation with our community, connecting historical understanding with the racial issues and public debates shaping our lives today.

From Understanding to Action

Deconstructing Racism is designed to move beyond simply identifying racism. Participants are encouraged to examine their own understanding of race, consider how racial inequities are reproduced through systems and institutions, and explore ways individuals, organizations, communities, and government can challenge those inequities.

Our goal is to help build a community that is better equipped to recognize racism, talk honestly about race, challenge inequity, and take informed action toward an anti-racist and intentionally integrated future.