What is a racism definition essay? First, we begin to define racism. The oxford dictionary does define racism as the belief that one race is superior to all other races.
I agree with this definition because it also gives examples of racism in our daily lives. An example of racism would be someone calling a group of Hispanic people ” illegals.” Even if they are not Mexican, they still feel that Hispanics are less critical because of their skin color. I’m not convinced that one race is superior to all other races, but I can see how people are still held back by racism today.
Another example would be when a white person walks into an office building and is greeted first because they feel that he is more critical than an African American that walks in the door. It is proof that racism exists because of our different skin colors.
Racism definition essay examples are everywhere, but not everyone recognizes them. Racism is not always easy to spot, but it becomes pretty clear why this is an issue if you pay attention to things around us.
Sociological Definition of Racism
Racism believes that different inherent traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. It often takes the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities. It may also hold that people should treat members of different races differently.
Some of the Racism Terms You Should Know
When it comes to defining race, there are specific terms that you should know about. They will help you with your racism definition essay. Here are some:
Institutional racism
It is a concept that has been around for decades. It is the idea that organizations are subtly influenced in their decisions by racial attitudes towards ethnic groups and stereotypes within society.
According to this theory, institutions in the society are seen as being controlled by the dominant group(s) even though they claim to treat people equally, or they can be infiltrated by negative attitudes towards minorities held by individuals who influence decision-making processes.
Internalized Racism
Internalized racism is a term used to describe the internalization of racism or other discriminatory ideas/attitudes/actions, leading to depression and low self-esteem among people of color.
The expression ‘internalized racism’ was first introduced by William E. Cross Jr in the 1970s. He defined it as “a successful attempt at disavowal or avoidance of a devalued identity.” Cross was using the term as a synonym of ‘internalized inferiority.
For example, a black person who bought into the white supremacist belief that she is ugly might go to great lengths to alter her appearance. Such behavior would fit Cross’s description of ‘avoided or disavowed devalued identity.’
Horizontal Racism for Racism definition essay
Horizontal racism is the deliberate attempt to render anothers’ race invisible. It is not about feeling superior or inferior to another, denies that the other races exist at all. Because of this, horizontal racism tends to be displayed unconsciously and unintentionally.
Here are some examples:
- The white person who only wants to date white people but denies they have a “type.”
- The black person who is suspicious of any non-black stranger in the vicinity.
- The Asian person who claims that racism/sexism doesn’t exist anymore because it’s illegal.
- The racist jokes told when no people of color are present.
Systemic racism
Systematic racism is racial prejudice against white people. Did you think that racial discrimination is only against dark-skinned people? White privilege is when you believe in offering benefits to others ONLY if they aren’t white, in the name of favoring inferior races.
To eradicate racism means pushing for equal treatment of everyone, regardless of skin color or other superficial factors in our everyday life.
Reverse Racism definition essay
Reverse racism describes any opposition to discriminating based on race in general. So long as someone from a different race receives discrimination, it is racism.
Racial group
A racial group is a human population of individuals that shares certain distinctive phenotypic traits, such as common ancestry and language, and usually inhabit the same geographic region.
However, no single definition of “race” is universally used or broadly accepted. Scientists and other interested groups often disagree about what race is, which can influence how they classify the people they study.
Racial Profiling
Racial profiling is the selective targeting of human beings based on their race or ethnicity. In this activity, a person is treated as suspicious because he belongs to a specific racial or cultural background, regardless of whether that individual fits the suspect’s description being sought by law enforcement officers.
The History of Racial discrimination
Racism began thousands of years ago. We can see racism and antagonism directed to inferior people in almost every race, nation, continent, and even religion. People have been discriminated against because of their color or origin until now. To name a few that discriminate against people for their skin color are Nazis, Ku Klux Klan (KKK), Neo-Nazi’s group, and many other “white supremacy” groups around the world.
In the early 1900s, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany and began a genocide against people he considered inferior. He was one of the most racist and antagonistic person in human history. Hitler started the Holocaust, which ran from 1933 to 1945, that killed 6 million Jews because of their race, religion, and political beliefs.
People who were discriminated against were mainly African Americans, Jewish people, Slavs (a person of Slavic descent), Romani people, Serbs, “black” military servicemen, and homosexuals. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are also many cases where African Americans were lynched by white supremacist groups or Japanese American citizens who were interned in challenging to deal with this dark legacy of its past.
During World War ii, Nazis decided to target Jewish people, homosexuals, gypsies, and people they considered inferior. Nazi soldiers rounded up these people and forced them into concentration camps where they were killed or worked to death. There is still a neo-Nazi organization in America that continues the legacy of Hitler.
Over the years, racism still exists. People are segregated by their race, color, and origin of birth, which has created many problems around the world. With Jim crow laws that encouraged racial discrimination and segregation, things have gotten even worse.
The only solution to find is educating people that racism does not solve any problem or conflict. If we can educate people, then maybe someday this will be over.
Examples Of Real Racism
People still mistreat others because they are not of the same race in our modern society. Racism is a giant that the world might not be able to overcome anytime soon.
Recently Kurt Zuoma, a center-back player for West Ham, found himself on the wrong side of the law when a video of him kicking a cat was out in the media. Things shook him that he lost part of his endorsement, including one with Addidas. They stated that he is no longer an athlete endorsed by them in a quote.
Additionally, they fined him a two-month wage donated to animal charities. After the game between WET HAM AND Watford, there was booing from parts of the crowd. Questions have risen while many people ask, would there be the same reaction had it not been a black man.
Many Americans came to the defense of the center-back. In particular, Antonio, the Jamaican player, asks, ” is what Zuoma did worse than racism? There have been acts of individual racism from different football players, but they have not received such harsh criticism.
It is worse that they are even considering firing Zuoma. Not to defend his actions of kicking a cat, but the question is, does the general public not find this as discrimination racism? Isn’t it clear that Zuoma is receiving a harsher punishment because he is from a specific race?
Unequal treatment is standard in today’s world. People are being judged for their skin color. It, in turn, affects their social life, mental health, and even how they fit in American society. White privilege is also race-based discrimination. However, the truth is that a particular race gets harsher unequal treatment than other groups.
When asked to write a racism definition essay apart from quoting the Oxford English dictionary, you can use people’s daily life to point out how racism is still a significant problem in our modern-day society.
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