The term “racist” is a strong one. It is entirely possible to be both contributing to the upholding of a racist system and not behaving in actively racist ways at the same time. Does that mean you deserve the term “racist”? I don’t know, but it does mean that on-balance you are fostering racism more than you are mitigating it by mostly standing on the sidelines.
Loan discrimination is alive and well in the present day. Your experience doesn’t necessarily reflect a larger issue, just as your personal pro-social behavior does not necessarily reflect a larger anti-social dynamic in society.
“Discrimination in home lending goes back to the beginning of home lending itself. During the last housing boom, when subprime mortgages were all the rage, predatory lending to minority borrowers was rampant. When the mortgage market came crashing down, taking the economy with it, some major lenders were held accountable. They ended up paying massive, multibillion-dollar settlements to the federal government. But there is clearly still bias in the market.
A majority (59%), of Black homebuyers are concerned about qualifying for a mortgage, while less than half (46%) of White buyers are, according to a recent survey by Zillow, a home listing website, which launched its own mortgage lending arm, Zillow Home Loans, late last year. That is because lenders deny mortgages for Black applicants at a rate 80% higher than that of White applicants, according to 2020 data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.” (emphasis mine)
