What are Institutions?

When defining social institutions we can describe them as "an interrelated set of norms”, or "an established machinery to satisfy the needs of human beings.". What this means in layman's terms is that institutions are created by groups of people trying to maintain specific societal norms. When those norms compile together to satisfy human needs they create an institution.

How do institutions perpetuate systemic oppression?

Social institutions are a build-up of individual beliefs and practices that accumulate over time. Systemic oppression arises from these institutions when the individuals who contribute to the enforcement and creation of these institutions hold racist or oppressive biases. This can best be seen through the "Lens of Systemic Oppression" :

Through this graphic, we can see how individual beliefs carry over into the structures and institutions of societies. When an individual or group of individuals such as the KKK are able to influence established institutions with racist beliefs, it translates into the structure of society and leads to the oppression we see today.