Systemic racism does exist...
just not in the way most people believe
Let me begin by saying that I hate the word "race" as applied to people. We're all part of the human race, and that is the only race God created. There may be distinctions between us, like the amount of melanin in our skin, but we are still all created as one race, in God's image.
Regarding systemic racism, show me what system is so built against someone because of their skin color that they can become city councilmen, mayors, police chiefs, representatives, senators, national attorney general, or even president. Show me what system is so built against someone because of their skin color that they can make millions making movies or playing a game. Show me a system so build against someone because of their skin color that the same system allows more of those people to become millionaires than anywhere else in the world. If such a system is truly intended to be "racist," then I suggest it has failed in its purpose.
There are issues that do hold people back. The two things that arguably hold back more people than any system can hope to are personal choice and personal responsibility. People don't want to take responsibility for choices they make, so they blame the system. I made a lot of bad choices in my life, and I could have ended up in a bad place (honestly, I probably shouldn't even be alive), but the Lord chose to save me, and my life was turned around. I don't blame the system for my choices or my situation; that is all on me.
Now, are there elements of the system that encourage this or help to hold people back? Absolutely. There are now more than ever facets built into our governmental and social systems that encourage poor choices and foster a victim mentality. While some of these can affect all people, they seem to impact black people disproportionately. So let's take a look at what is actually "systemically racist," the particular elements of the system that stack the deck more against people of color than anything else (hint: it's not police brutality).
The welfare system. Perhaps the most destructive contributor to "systemic racism" is the welfare system. While not solely responsible for fatherless homes, since its expansion under Lyndon Johnson, the welfare system has been a major contributor to the issue. Many point to the fact that in 1960, prior to the expansion, about 22% of black homes were single-parent homes, whereas by 1990, that figure was nearer 67%. Add to that the fact that the system essentially sees the father as a "good father" so long as he provides financially (child support enforcement), but leaves the single mother as the gatekeeper to visitation, and you have a formula that fosters absenteeism. One other social factor here is radical feminism, as this teaches women they don't need men, again contributing to the absence of fathers in homes.
The reason I put this first should be clear: being raised in a fatherless home (especially for boys) leads to increases in poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, physical and emotional issues, poor educational performance/experience, crime, and the continuance of children born out of wedlock. These aren't opinions; these are statistics well-documented by studies. It creates a self-perpetuating cycle that is difficult to break, and while fatherlessness is blind to skin color, it does affect blacks disproportionately (approximately 24% of white homes are fatherless vs. approximately 65% of black homes). So the real issue here is fatherless homes, but the welfare system and feminism both encourage and exacerbate the issue.
Planned Parenthood. Perhaps no part of the system is more nefarious and so specifically targeted at the destruction of the black family than Planned Parenthood. Most people today who defend Planned Parenthood as a "women's health" organization fail to admit its primary purpose. While it is questionable whether Margaret Sanger was racist or had any racial bias in her belief in eugenics, in her quest to "empower women to make their own reproductive choices," she founded the one organization arguably responsible for the deaths of more black people each year than any overtly racist person or organization could ever even dream. Their clinics are strategically placed in predominantly minority and/or lower-income neighborhoods. Granted, it's not ONLY Planned Parenthood, but the abortion industry in general is guilty. I simply reference Planned Parenthood as they seem to be the face and voice of the abortion industry in the U.S.
According to this 2019 study:
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/usa_abortion_by_race.html
though blacks historically have not always accounted for the largest number of abortions, the ratio of abortions to live births among blacks has always outpaced that of any other race. This greatly impacts the overall birth rate and leads to a more slowly frowning black population. Regardless the differences in absolute numbers, when or where else could any group get away with killing an average of 300,000 black people per year and be applauded for it by those who claim to support the back community?
(This may change with the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, but that doesn't change the damage Planned Parenthood has wrought for so long)
Affirmative Action. Why would I consider racist something so clearly instituted to "help blacks"? There are a few of reasons. First, while not necessarily the intent, adjusting requirements for college entry or employment attainment to make it easier for blacks essentially says, "you can't make it on your own." It is, what many call, "the soft racism of low expectation." This does not promote the idea that all people are equal and have equal opportunity regardless of skin color. Instead, it smacks of the racism embodied in my next point - white savior syndrome.
Since, in the eyes of affirmative action, blacks can't make it on their own, it then necessitates that someone (the government? Whites?) come to the rescue to provide the opportunity they would not otherwise receive. Again, how is this accomplished? By assisting blacks in rising to the challenge? No, it is accomplished by lowering the standard. How does that help anyone? John McWhorter has explained how mismatching black students to universities based on Affirmative Action leads to lower rates of advanced degrees, but that properly matching a student to a college leads to higher rates of post-graduate degrees among blacks.
Perhaps the worst part of all of this is that the political left uses these "tools" to perpetuate the problem, seizing upon the narrative provided by disparities in outcome (not opportunity) to drive a wedge between people, based on skin color, in order to try to maintain power and garner votes. There are people in this country who make a living on promulgating a victim mentality (avoiding personal responsibility for personal choices) and stoking division. Without these things, they would be out of a job. So there are those who are part of the system, who claim to want to help, but really just use those they claim to want to help in order to further their own careers and attempts to gain more power.
So, there you have it. The REAL systemic racism. Not the mythical system of racism within police departments nationwide. Not the mythological monster known by the name "white privilege." Real policies that do real harm to real people.