Racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that human beings can be divided into races and that members of some races are inferior to members of other races. Usually, this attitude also involves the belief that one's own race is superior to other races. People who believe in or practise racism are called racists. They claim that members of their own race are mentally, physically, morally, or culturally superior to those of other races. Because racists assume they are superior, they believe they deserve special rights and privileges.
Groups, as well as individuals, differ. But there is no scientific evidence to support claims of superiority or inferiority for these differences. Social scientists emphasize that no two groups have exactly the same environment. As a result, many group differences are largely the result of different environments. Scientists have long debated the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining these differences. But most scientists believe that heredity and environment interact in complex ways. In addition, most anthropologists today reject the idea that human beings can be divided into biologically defined races. For a discussion of these ideas, see the articles on Intelligence (Controversy over intelligence) and Human Races (Race and discrimination).
Racism is widespread and has caused major problems, even though no scientific proof supports racist claims. Claims of racial superiority and inferiority have been used to justify discrimination, segregation, colonialism, slavery, and sometimes even genocide (mass murder).
Racism is a form of prejudice. Many people tend to consider their own appearance and behaviour as normal and therefore desirable. They may distrust or fear people who look or act differently. When differences are obvious such as in skin colour or religious worship the distrust becomes greater. Such attitudes can lead to the belief that people who look or act differently are inferior. Many people do not look for the same qualities in other groups that they admire in their own. Also, they do not recognize the different but equally good qualities that members of other groups possess.
Racism in countries where whites form a majority is directed mainly by the white majority against ethnic minority groups. Such groups include blacks, American Indians, Mexican Americans, Australian Aborigines and Asians. These minorities have been discriminated against in such areas as housing, education, and employment. For a detailed discussion of such discrimination, see Segregation; Minority group; Ethnic group; Australian Aborigines; and American Indian.
In South Africa, a white minority controlled the government for many years. It imposed racist laws affecting housing, education, and employment on the much larger nonwhite majority. This policy was known as apartheid. See Apartheid.
Individual and institutional racism. Sociologists often distinguish between individual and institutional racism. Individual racism refers chiefly to the prejudicial beliefs and discriminatory behaviour of individual whites against blacks and other minority groups. It is based on assumptions of superiority and inferiority.
Institutional racism, on the other hand, refers to the policies of communities, schools, businesses, and other groups and organizations that restrict the opportunities of minority groups. Institutional racism may or may not have been intentionally set up to practise discrimination. Regardless, it can produce harmful results. For example, a company may hire only college graduates for work that does not require a college degree. But a far smaller proportion of blacks than whites may have had the opportunity to earn a degree. Thus, the company policy lessens the job opportunities of blacks even though the firm might not have intended to do so.
History. Forms of racism have existed since the beginning of history. More than 2,000 years ago, for example, the ancient Creeks and Romans made slaves of people whom they regarded as inferior. Jews have long been persecuted on religious and cultural grounds. For hundreds of years after Marco Polo's travels to China in the 1200's, the Chinese regarded Westerners as "hairy white barbarians."
Between the 1700's and early 1900's, Europeans gained control of large parts of Asia and Africa. These colonialists justified their domination on the grounds that the black, brown, and yellow-skinned "races" had to be "civilized" by the "superior" whites. This civilizing mission came to be called the "white man's burden." Throughout the British Empire, white supremacy was assumed in most areas of life. In colonial India, for example, there was little social intermixing between native Indians and white officials. In Australia, white settlers regarded the Aborigines as inferiors. By the mid-1900's, most colonialism had ended. But its effects on the world are still felt today. For details, see the articles on Africa (History) and Asia (Results of colonialism; The spread of Communism).
From the 1600's to the mid-1800's, many whites in the United States held blacks in slavery. Slavery was a major cause of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The slaves were freed during the 1860's, but segregation and discrimination against blacks continued.
Legislation has been passed to combat racism, and to promote equality of opportunity in multiracial societies. Such laws make discrimination unlawful on grounds of colour, nationality, or ethnic origin in such areas as providing goods and services, employment, and education. Criminal laws prohibit the incitement of racial hatred. In the United Kingdom, race relations laws were first passed in the 1960's, following the arrival of numbers of immigrants from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan, and later Bangladesh. The Race Relations Act of 1976 established the Commission for Racial Equality. Community relations councils operate at the local level. The United States government has passed a number of laws designed to give equal opportunities to blacks and other disadvantaged groups. Even so, racial problems continue to plague the United States.
Genocide is the most extreme result of racial hatred. Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Nazi Germany, preached that Germans belonged to the "superior Aryan race," and that Jews and other non-Aryan peoples were inferior. Hitler's belief in German superiority and his hatred of Jews resulted in Nazi policies that brought the murder of about 6 million Jews during the 1930's and 1940's. See Jews (Beginnings of Nazi persecution). Related articles include: Anti-Semitism, Apartheid, Genocide, Immigration, Prejudice, Race relations laws Races, Human Slavery.