Narrative

Artist statement
The System
Michael Faris

The System is a series of artworks that illustrates the issue of systemic racism in the United States. It was initiated by a conversation I had with a White male who asserted that the concept of systemic racism is, in his word, "bullshit." He and many other White people in the United States simply do not "believe" in racism and truly do believe that we are living in a "post-racial" society. This series will demonstrate the ways that systemic racism affects people from minority populations and will reveal the methods that White racists use to maintain White supremacy in the United States.

Revealing the methods that White people use to maintain an advantage in the United States is a component of Critical Race Theory known as Critical Enlightenment Theory. Critical Enlightenment Theory asserts that revealing these methods of maintaining White supremacy can lead to finding ways to combat these methods of oppression and finding ways to gain equity for people from minority populations.

This series will reveal methods of racial oppression that cloud various aspects of the lives of people from minority populations. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that systemic racism has affected nearly every aspect of contemporary society, including prenatal and general health care, birth rates, education, housing, nutrition, work practices, transportation, and even polling venue availability. These and other aspects of systemic racism will be illustrated in the series.