Nationwide protests in recent weeks have rekindled a roaring public discourse about racial inequality in America.

George Floyd’s death in police custody on May 25 let loose a groundswell of public rage about the way Black Americans are policed. But it also sparked a deeper conversation about the way they experience all aspects of modern life, whether it’s underrepresentation in college attainment rates, or over-representation in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Extensive academic research and data collected by the federal government and researchers has documented numerous ways that Black Americans experience life in the United States differently from their white counterparts.

It’s called “systemic” racism because it’s ingrained in nearly every way people move through society in the policies and practices at institutions like banks, schools, companies, government agencies, and law enforcement.

The resulting data show that these disparities exist along nearly every facet of American life, including employment, wealth, education, home ownership, healthcare, and incarceration.

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