Visible racism gets all the attention when it erupts in shootings and deaths.
Yet the most insidious and damaging racism is that which is culturally condoned. It can be as seemingly innocuous as an overheard racist remark that no one bothers to counter. Or it can be as deeply woven as an institutional barrier to hiring and promotion. We have to believe first that the elimination of racism is a necessity and then that it's possible to create a racist-free society. The YWCA's mission statement supports this concept.