What is racism?
- Racism is founded on the belief in one’s racial superiority over another.
- Racism encompasses the beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and practices that define people based on racial classifications.
- Racism involves a generalized lack of knowledge or experience as it applies to negative beliefs and attitudes.
- Racism uses the inflexible assumption that group differences are biologically determined and therefore inherently unchangeable.
- Racism does not exist in a vacuum, but rather is enacted and reinforced through social, cultural, and institutional practices that endorse the hierarchical power of one racial group over another.
Historical Background of Racism:
- · Racism in the United States has existed since the inception of this country. It is an institution that has dramatically shaped American society. European settlers began with overt acts of racial discrimination, such as the enslavement and genocide of African and Native American people. The use of direct force and political subjugation helped White people maintain unconditional authority over non-White inhabitants and elevated White power and privilege. Exploitation of non-Whites also helped constitute much of the rapid economic growth and prosperity seen in American history. Over the years, however, many non-White and White citizens fought against the institutionalization of power based on the color of one’s skin. As historic legislation against racial discrimination grew, the semblance of overt racism was replaced by more covert racism in which the generations of institutional and individual racial prejudice continue to plague the way members of different races think, act, and feel towards one another.
Differences between race, ethnicity, and culture:
- Race- a classification of human beings into distinguishable groups that are based on innate and immutable physical characteristics, e.g. skin color, hair texture, eye shape.
- Ethnicity - a classification of individuals who share a common ancestry comprised of customs and traditions that are passed on between generations, e.g. religion, dress, and nationality.
- Culture - a broader category that extends beyond race and ethnicity to include any group of people who share common lifestyle characteristics which are passed on to members of the particular group, e.g. socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, geographic location.
What is prejudice?
- Stems from natural tendency toward categorizing information as a way of simplifying the abundance of information that exists in the world.
- Such categorizations or stereotypes are generalized to incorporate further information and are therefore based on insufficient evidence and can be distorted.
- Attitudes and beliefs are a central part of these stereotypes, and can either be positive or negative.
Racial prejudice is comprised of negative attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes, which are inflexible and resistant to change despite contradictory evidence.
What is discrimination?
- The behavioral manifestation of negative prejudice.
- The purpose is to preserve and favor the characteristics of one’s own group at the expense of others in the comparison group.
Racism is a combination of racial prejudice and discrimination.
Minority/Majority Group:
- Minority group - any group who is singled out in society based on physical or cultural characteristics and is treated differentially and unequally. A minority group may or may not be a numerical majority, but the defining features are a lack of social, political, and economic power, which is determined by the dominant, majority group.
- Majority group - any group that holds the social, economic, and political power to influence and determine who will have access to the benefits, privileges, and opportunities of the society.
Power/Privilege:
- Having power means having the capacity to create desired effects or to influence others for one’s own benefit.
- Social power refers to the capacity that a particular group has in being able to effect desired changes, but also refers to the potential of such a group exploiting those who hold less power.
- Having this power is a privilege which is unearned and only afforded to those who fit the mold of the dominant group.
Forms of racism :
- OvertRacism - what most people are familiar with since it is easily detectable and takes the form of direct behavioral or verbal racially discriminatory acts.
- CovertRacism - more subtle, yet occurs more often than overt racism and is more easily hidden, denied, or discounted.
- Individual Racism:
- Overt Example: An Arabic male student who is brutally murdered out of hate.
- Covert Example: An employer who decides not to hire an Asian American employee because she believes that the employee might drive away business, but tells the person that there are no more openings available.
- Institutional Racism:
- Overt Example: A country club that has clearly written rules which preclude any non-White members.
- Covert Example: An academic curriculum that only emphasizes European American history and does not address the history of other ethnic/cultural groups.
- Cultural Racism:
- Overt Examples: The extermination of Jews in the Holocaust. The enslavement of African Americans.
- Covert Example: The unrealistic and stereotypical portrayal of ethnic minorities in the media.
Consequences of Racism:
- On the minority or target group:
- Low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and physical illness.
- Internalized racism (Unquestioned acceptance of the myth of racial inferiority).
- Limited access to necessary and desired resources.
- Limited freedom and death.
- On the majority or dominant group:
- Continued ignorance of and isolation from others.
- A challenge to humanistic values, creating an impairment of moral development.
- Pressure to maintain the status quo.
- Perpetuation of group conformity, which limits individual and intellectual growth and undermines authentic relationships.
Formation of Racism:
A child is not born a racist, but rather racism is a learned social phenomenon, via family, education, religion, the law, and the media. It is difficult to grow up in society without adopting the worldviews and biases of the society.
- Perpetuation of Racism
- Tendency toward adhering to and preferring the values and personal beliefs of one’s own group.
- Tendency toward associating with individuals or groups that have similar values and beliefs and therefore limiting the amount of intergroup contact and experience from which to draw.
- Tendency toward categorizing information and using generalized assumptions, which often lead to stereotypes and negative biases.
- Judging the values and standards of minority group cultures by the values and standards of the majority group culture and labeling the former as inferior (a.k.a.ethnocentrism).
Some Solutions:
- Individual Level:
- Individuals holding each other accountable for recognizing and countering racial beliefs and practices.
- Majority individuals engaging in diversity trainings and joining minority individuals in grass root efforts to combat racism.
- Individuals engaging in cross-cultural friendships and relationships.
- Institutional Level:
- Minorities’ full participation in the political system.
- Inclusion of ethnically diverse contributions, values, and perspectives into the educational curriculum and practices.
- The implementation of a laws and strategies that aim to give those who for generations have been and continue to be denied the opportunity of a higher education.
- Cultural Level:
- A media system that portrays minorities in a realistic rather than stereotypical and negative light.
- Celebration, education, and integration of different cultural traditions into society.
UNDERSTANDING & COMBATING RACISM IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY!
The following references were used and can be accessed for further information:
- 1. Jones, J.M. (1997). Prejudice and racism (2 nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- 2. Ponterotto, J.G., & Pedersen, P.B. (1993). Preventing prejudice: A guide for counselors and educators. Newbury Park:
Sage.
- 3. Ridley, C.R. (1995). Overcoming unintentional racism in counseling and therapy: A practitioner’s guide to intentional
intervention. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- 4. Sue, D.W., Carter, R.T., Casas, J.M., Fouad, N.A., Ivey, A.E., Jensen, M., LaFramboise, T., Manese, J.E., Ponterotto, J.G.,
& Vazquez-Nutall, E. (1998). Multicultural counseling competencies: Individual and organizational development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. |
