ERASE Racism uses the following definition to describe institutional racism in the United States:

Institutional racism is a term that describes the way government and other public and private institutions systematically afford White people an array of social, political and economic advantages, simply because they are White, while marginalizing and putting at a disadvantage African Americans and many other people of color. White people often cannot see and do not question the sources and legitimacy of their privilege and power, whereas people of color experience daily its consequences. Even without conscious, personal racial animosity, these institutional structures, policies, and practices generate and maintain racial discrimination, segregation, and inequalities of opportunity that keep African Americans and other people of color apart from the mainstream of American economic and political life.

Institutional racism is a legacy of American slavery and White settlers' determination to systematically exclude Africans from every aspect of the newly formed democratic society. Institutional racism is still rampant today and remains embedded in every institution, school, and system in society despite efforts to protect the civil rights of African Americans and other people of color.

Racial prejudice is not an act. Racial prejudice is an attitude, opinion or feeling, which is usually negative. It is a prejudgment based on myth, missing information, misinformation (lies), or stereotypes about People of Color or White People. Anyone can be racially prejudiced.