Whiteness became a norm in terminology, it was a social norm for them. Whites owned a lot of things and that’s how they got by. That’s how they were better by owning slaves and better wages, these problems that existed in the country then.
I would say, the prison system that Gilmore is referring to was the beginning of how petty crimes created long imprisonment. It was such a topic on the news especially how the legalization of weed became legal. Most crime happened to be towards African americans. But it was society that also aimed toward that community if one believes that.
She was saying that we should value the lives of everyone over profits toward a certain class. It’s a struggle because it’s a hard thing to overcome since all of this is rooted and its always brought up so it can never really be a clean slate.