Stephen Menendian, assistant director and director of research at the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, has focused his career on understanding structural racism. He defines structural racism as policies that may not be explicitly designed to harm people of color but still lead to racial inequality.
Menendian explains in a video for the “101 in 101” series that many mechanisms of structural racism, such as mass incarceration, have developed since the Civil Rights era. According to Menendian, “structural racism is an evolution of the concept of institutional racism brought forward in the 1960s to say that institutions can produce and maintain racial inequality even in the absence of racist actors or any kind of invidious intent.” He adds that the structural approach examines how entire systems are interconnected and can shape opportunities: “It’s like a web without the spider.”
His research highlights several factors contributing to structural racism, including exclusionary zoning laws, reduced municipal funding for public services, and unequal public investment. He notes that residential segregation leads middle-income Black families to often live in higher-poverty neighborhoods than poor white families, which affects health, wealth, and education outcomes.
Menendian’s recent book, Structural Racism: The Dynamics of Opportunity and Race in America, analyzes these forces and suggests ten strategies for addressing them. These include ending mass incarceration, reforming zoning laws, and improving access to schools, transit, and housing. Alongside the book’s release, the Othering & Belonging Institute has published an interactive tool tracking over 80 metrics related to racial disparities.
Menendian says he hopes this data-driven approach will help clarify how systemic issues contribute to ongoing inequalities: “With deeper, data-driven understanding, we can begin to untangle the interlocking webs that hold back people of color.”
The “101 in 101” video series features UC Berkeley faculty explaining key concepts from their fields.
