Whereas racism is a social system with multiple dimensions—individual racism that is internalized or interpersonal, and systemic racism that is institutional, or structural, and is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks; Whereas race is a social construct with no biological basis; Whereas racism unfairly disadvantages specific individuals and communities, while unfairly giving advantages to other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources; Whereas racism is a root cause of poverty and constricts economic mobility; Whereas racism causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, employment, and criminal justice, and an emerging body of research demonstrates that racism itself is a social determinant of health; Whereas African Americans face obstacles to economic opportunity, with higher unemployment rates (16.7 percent for African Americans compared to 14.7 percent overall in April 2020), a higher poverty rate as a community (20.8 percent for African Americans compared to 11.8 percent overall in 2018), lower home ownership rates (44 percent for African Americans compared to 65.3 percent overall), and a significant wealth gap (with a net worth for a typical Black household of $17,150 compared to $171,000 for an average White family); Whereas African Americans experience disproportionate interactions with law enforcement and the criminal justice system, as demonstrated by higher incarceration rates (1,501 African Americans per 100,000 compared to 698 people per 100,000 overall), and 40 percent of the people who are incarcerated in the United States are Black