John Hope Franklin led President Bill Clinton's Initiative on Race, "One America in the 21st century: Forging a new future" in 1998. John Hope Franklin created this list, "10 Things that every American should do" to promote racial reconciliation.
1. Make a commitment to become informed about people from other races and cultures.
2. If it is not your inclination to think about race, commit at least 1 day each month to thinking about how issues of racial prejudice and privilege might be affecting each person you come into contact with that day.
3. In your life, make a conscious effort to get to know people of other races.
4. Make a point to raise your concerns about comments or actions that appear prejudicial, even if you are not the targets of these actions.
5. Initiate a constructive dialogue on race within your workplace, school, neighborhood, or religious community.
6. Support institutions that promote racial inclusion.
7. Participate in a community project to reduce racial disparities in opportunity and well-being.
8. Insist that institutions that teach us about our community accurately reflect the diversity of our nation.
9. Visit other areas of the city, region, or country that allow you to experience parts of other cultures, beyond their food.
10. Encourage groups you can influence (whether you work as a volunteer or employee) to examine how they can increase their commitment to reducing racial disparities, lessening discrimination, and improving race relations.
Systemic racism is also known as structural or institutional racism or inequality. Systemic racism refers to the social, economic, and (il)legal actions that intentionally exclude Black people, leading to oppression based upon the color of their skin. Housing, healthcare, employment, education, mortgage loans and government program eligibility are some areas where Black people have been historically excluded, while other Americans have benefited and received privileges. The books listed below offer in-depth explanations of race-based medical abuse, housing and mortgage loan discrimination, socioeconomic discrimination, to the legislative discrimination that have contributed to the stark disparities between Black, white and other Americans.