How do I recognize systemic racism in institutions I work or study in?

Systemic racism isn't always a person being openly hostile—that's actually the easier part to spot. What you're looking for are patterns: Who gets hired, promoted, or listened to? Whose voices shape decisions that affect everyone? Look at hiring timelines, promotion rates by race, who's in leadership, whose curriculum gets taught, whose research gets funded. Notice the small moments too: whose ideas get credited, who gets interrupted in meetings, whose competence gets questioned first. Sor Juana knew this intimately. She was brilliant, but her intellect was constantly questioned because of her gender and her position. Systems don't need everyone to be consciously racist—they just need the structures to be designed in ways that consistently advantage some people and disadvantage others. Start documenting what you observe without judgment. That clarity matters. Once you can name the pattern, you can decide whether to challenge it, document it, or find spaces where you're not constantly translating yourself to be taken seriously.