What is Racism?
Racism, however, is more than just prejudice and discrimination combined. Racism is a socially constructed reality at the heart of society¹s structures. Racism is the deliberate structuring of privilege by means of an objective, differential and unequal treatment of people, for the purpose of social advantage over scarce resources, resulting in an ideology of supremacy which justifies power of position by placing a negative meaning on perceived or actual biological/cultural differences. Racism and prejudice are not mental illnesses or psychological problems people have. Neither are they the product of "psychological abnormalities." Both are rational, cultural and structural phenomena to defend power. Racism goes beyond prejudice (an attitude) to structure this power advantage politically, economically, culturally and religiously within a social system, whether it be simple (as in personal bias) or complex (as in the role apartheid played in South Africa), which gives social advantage to some at the expense of others perceived to be inferior and undeserving.
Race is a Social Construct
" Americans believe in the reality of ‘race’ as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world. Racism—the need to ascribe bone-deep features to people and then humiliate, reduce, and destroy them—inevitably follows from this inalterable condition. In this way, racism is rendered as the innocent daughter of Mother Nature, and one is left to deplore the Middle Passage or Trail of Tears the way one deplores an earthquake, a tornado, or any other phenomenon that can be cast as beyond the handiwork of men. But race is the child of racism, not the father."
~Ta Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me (7)
If racism is a socially constructed system of power designed to create a hierarchy of privilege, then the races we designate to people are arbitrary categories loosely based on historical assumptions and prejudices. This is a lot to wrap one’s head around -- Think about it. How would you define ‘white’ or ‘black’? How many ancestors does one need to have from a certain ethnic group or country to qualify as ‘white’ or ‘black’? Race is much more than skin tone and other features. Not sure if you believe me? Try this game here and guess the race and of these ethnic groups. As this article explains, whiteness can’t simply be defined on skin tone: white individuals with a tan are still white while light skinned blacks are not and pale individuals of Asian descent aren’t considered white.
White is also not synonymous with European ancestry. For most of the 19th century, Irish and Italian immigrants to the United States were not considered ‘white’ citizens which resulted in discrimination in the US. Only until a new wave of immigrants arrived in the United States were the Irish and Italians considered white.
"It was created as a means to differentiate from those who were seen as fully human and those who were not. To put it simply, the concept of whiteness was pretty much created to send this message: “We’re not one of you, and you’re not one of us.” This is the reason why Italian and Irish pride is associated with a festivals and parades, and white pride is associated with a Klan rally." (X)
Though individuals from different groups and backgrounds may have different physical appearances, these traits are not indicative of concrete differences between different ethnic groups: "The differences that we see in skin color do not translate into widespread biological differences that are unique to groups.". (X) When considering a group of so called ‘whites’ and so called ‘blacks’ there will be more differences within each group than between the two groups as a whole.
The Lived Experience of Minorities
“But all our phrasing—race relations, racial chasm, racial justice, racial profiling, white privilege, even white supremacy—serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth. You must never look away from this. You must always remember that the sociology, the history, the economics, the graphs, the charts, the regressions all land, with great violence, upon the body.”
― Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Although race is an arbitrary category, these categories and classifications have a very real and tangible effect on the daily lives of minorities. The video to the left shows how individuals who are perceived to be black Americans are treated differently than their white counterparts. Because of their skin tone, black Americans are routinely shunned and discriminated in both overt and subtle ways. This game also illustrates how blacks and hispanics are routinely disadvantaged in many facets of their daily life.
Everyone experiences their race differently. Think about times where your race has affected your life and how others have treated you. When was the first time you recognized your race?
One of the best ways to learn about the impact of race is to hear others speak about their own experiences; we have documented the stories of students in our lived experiences section which tells the stories of students here and at other institutions. In the photos we've documented and in the play Lines: The Lived Experience of Race individuals share their personal experiences with overt prejudice and microaggressions. For more information and background on microaggressions please check out our "Questions" section.