Institutional racism has been pretty much eliminated outside the deep south, right?

[iemitsu]

1. One problem with institutional racism is that it is institutionalized.

It is so interwoven into the fabric of daily life that it is often not visible to the naked eye.
So in our "post-racial" society, we understand that lack of achievement is due to lack of effort or a lack of will, or both, and we can't see that what is distracting the under-achiever is that invisible thread, stitching the label to the shirt, poking constantly at the nape of his/her neck.
I can personally attest to the toll, in wasted time and effort and in other's perceptions of how I use my time and effort, exacted in searching for that illusive thread.