The latest study from Pew Research Center suggests that blacks and whites in America are not on the same page when it comes to race relations.

The survey results are dismal, with more than 80% of black respondents reporting that slavery still continues to impact their position in America today. Seventy-eight percent of black people reported that our nation hasn’t done enough to put them on equal footing with their white counterparts.

When asked if black people will ever achieve equal rights someday, 50% of black respondents agreed that racial equality isn’t likely, though only 7% of white people thought the same.

This gap in faith is staggering and suggests that significantly more white people believe racial reconciliation is possible, though half of black people do not.

But one particularly interesting summary from the report suggests that black people are much more likely to see their race as important to how they think about themselves compared to only 15% of white people who say the same about being white.

So why is this? If this survey were to truly represent all Americans, how is it that most white people do not “see color,” yet the majority of black people do?

This habit of looking at life through a heavy-tinted racial lens is a three-pronged issue. This begins with upbringing, is triggered by indoctrination, and is spread by fear. Perhaps this is the true systemic racism, though it’s not how we were taught.

It’s hard to define where it begins, but I’ll start with upbringing. Many of my black peers grew up in a home where race is an ongoing topic. From childhood to adolescence, black parents teach their kids that the white man is responsible for some of life’s challenges. When that child is old enough to apply for a job and doesn’t get it, they are taught that possible discrimination was at play — of course without evaluating the other possible reasons for not being a good candidate. And by the time adulthood arrives, this person has been programmed to run on victimhood and to fear white people.

When a person is old enough to understand news media, then indoctrination comes into play. From TV to tablet, fake news engages in this chronic virtue signaling that reinforces the negative outlook that this now-young black adult was taught throughout childhood. It doesn’t help that, come election time, democratic candidates and so-called “black leaders” surface, bringing with them “black-centered” issues such as reparations to play on our emotions. Every time a black young adult’s eyes are glued to the screen is an opportunity to remind black people that they are oppressed. As Booker T. Washington described it, this happens for two reasons: 1. Because they “want sympathy,” and 2. it pays.

But because so many people still believe mainstream media to be gospel, this indoctrination morphs into a fear of white people. Now, you have a black adult who lives her life in suspicion. She fails to interact with white people and has few, if any, white friends. And ultimately, she’ll vote Democrat.

Meanwhile, a black male with a busted taillight might get pulled over by a white police officer. Startled and anxious, the black driver overreacts to the situation and won’t comply with the officer, who in a lot of cases is simply trying to be civil. Instead, the driver — riddled with fear — flips out and creates a scene. In some cases, this results in an unfortunate ending as the community mourns an incarceration or even a death that could have been prevented if fear did not have such a tight grasp on the black driver.

Upbringing, indoctrination, and fear — perhaps this is the true foundation of systemic racism. It’s a cycle that must be broken, and for black people to be free from this perceived racism is to unsubscribe from this mindset. Only then will “Black America” enjoy a positive interaction with people of all races, with suspicion, prejudice, and fear cast aside.

“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.” —Booker T. Washington