Exploring systemic racism as the default explanation for disparities‎

Much of the field of sociology treats systemic racism as its default explanation for racial disparities rather than as an open question that requires further investigation and evidence, according to a recent position paper. The assumptions and moralization surrounding the origins of race-based disparities have undermined the discipline and made it difficult—and professionally costly—to challenge the concept, says author Ilana Redstone, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.