Exposing the group disparities = discrimination fallacy

“We have a hard time recognizing that racial discrimination is the sole cause of racial disparities.” - Ibram X. Kendi

The idea that outcome disparities between racial groups result from discrimination rests on a misleading, politically motivated portrayal of reality.

White vs. black comparisons merely obscure disparities between all ethnic/ancestry groups while promoting the illusion that white-black disparities are somehow exceptional. Nearly half (47.8%) of all European ancestry groups report below-average median incomes, which is almost identical to the share (48.4%) among non-Europeans.

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Despite the fact that the five lowest-earning European groups hardly suffered oppression, their median personal incomes in 2015-2019 were around $15,110 lower than that of the four highest-earning European groups. For perspective, this gap is nearly twice the size of the median earnings gap ($8,272) between all European ancestry groups and African Americans.

If outcome gaps endure in the absence of discrimination, how can it be concluded that those between whites and African Americans are its product?

How a member of a group fared in 1980 predicts how an average member fares now. New French surnames were as underrepresented among physicians and attorneys in the 2000s as they were in 1930s, and not much more represented than those common among African Americans.

When controlling for cognitive ability (which is heritable and differs between races), racial differences in incomes, arrests, incarceration and the likelihood to attain BA+ degrees disappear.

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If African Americans are systemically penalized on account of their race, why does this ostensible bias vanish when controlling for cognitive ability?

If the US is indeed a ‘white supremacist’ social system, it is failing miserably.

We need to focus on individuals, not groups.