1. Understanding How Systemic Racism Affects Young People of Color in Merced County
Results Summary
Acknowledgements
Funding for this project was made possible in part by the California Endowment and Building Healthy Communities-Merced (BHC).
BHC exists to empower Merced residents to take on an active role in bettering their health and also encourage the
establishment of a coalition involving community members that works toward understanding and eliminating the
systemic injustice embedded in the health care system.
Background
• Minority populations disproportionately suffer from
inequities in numerous aspects of life, especially
education and health
• Combination of systemic, institutionalized racism and
large groups of oblivious individuals is lethal
• Bringing awareness and attention to such, through
World Café conversations, may help to address health
and educational disparities experienced by young
people of color (YPOC), particularly black males, living
in Merced County
Conclusions
Recommendations
• 100% of World Café participants experienced racism,
first-hand or second-hand while living in Merced County
• Building and maintaining relationships with like-minded
members of the same community ensures that
conversations will be normalized
• Further implementation of World Cafés at all levels (K-
College) to identify and discuss lived experiences of
systemic racism
• Conversation facilitators must be culturally competent
and/or identify with the group of World Café
participants for best results
Systemic Racism was defined as an “allowed” never
ending toxic cycle of inequity, biases based on race,
and systemic identity policing.
It’s structurally embedded and incorporated into our:
• Education system
• Job market
• Healthcare system
Aja Rose Johnson1 and Stergios Roussos2 PhD, MPH
1BLUM Center for Developing Economies, University of California Merced
2 Alliance for Community Research and Development
• World Café conversations conducted with YPOC in
Merced County
• 60 participants, primarily African American; 3
conversations; K-5th, 6th-12th, College
• 60-90 minutes per conversation in person held at the
University campus
• Qualitative and quantitative analysis of common and
unique themes
• Methods of group communication (e.g., World Cafes)
important to progression play a key role in raising
awareness and education of practices to prevent and
reduce disparities among YPOC in Merced
• Regardless of age group, young people of color are
able to identify how systemic racism affects their lives
Methods
Research Questions: What are the major inequities
impacting successful development of YPOC in Merced
County? How can community members be supported
to discuss and address issues related to racism and
discrimination that impact YPOC?
World Café Method
Purpose: Get acquainted with like-minded individuals
and discuss issues relevant to particular community
Etiquette
Small Group Round
Question(s)
Harvest
Questions: 1) How have you or someone you know
experienced racial inequity? How did it
affect you/them/others?
2) What is systemic racism? How does is
affect the health of our campus?
Figure 2: Students engaging in World Café
conversation activity
Figure 1: Student experience with racism
Source: World Café Data
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
K-5th 6th-12th College
Experience
No Experience
“Social media has become the new avenue for people to be racist and remain
anonymous. I will never forget how their words about my blackness made me
feel.” –Student from Merced County
“They are 48%. We are 5.7%. Where are the (black) resources for us on this
campus? Maybe if I’d attended an HBCU, I’d be treated better.” –Daralynn
McCall, UCM sophomore
“When it comes to systemic racism, personal experience varies across the
board. However, I’ve now realized that we’re all experiencing it.”
–Student from Merced County
• Each experience had long-term effects on the individual(s)
• World Café participants were able to realize that their lived experiences are
similar to those of their peers
Systemic
Racism
Lack of
Opportunity
Education
Awareness
Action
Change
Unity