Racism and Discrimination

Racism can be defined as a system of oppression based on racial/ethnic group designations in which a pervasive ideology of racial superiority and inferiority provides the foundation for structural inequalities, intergroup conflict, discrimination, and prejudice. Racism, like all systems of oppression (e.g., sexism, classism, heterosexism/homophobia, ageism), is based on power asymmetries such that the dominant group is granted unearned privileges, such as respect and esteem, social validation and affirmation, opportunities and rewards, freedoms and safety, and greater access to valued societal resources.

Racial discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes are the building blocks as well as the products of racism. Stereotypes are cognitive overgeneralizations, the labels associated with different groups. Prejudice is an attitude formed about a group of people without adequate evidence. When prejudgment is added to stereotypes, racial prejudice exists. Racial discrimination is differential treatment and behavior based on race. When action is added to racial prejudice, discriminatory behaviors are manifested. Racism is a systemic process. When power asymmetry is added to racial discrimination, the system of racism is operating.

Racial discrimination involves the expression of beliefs and attitudes rooted in racism. Discrimination includes major civil rights violations and illegal activities such as hate crimes, racial harassment, racial profiling, and job discrimination. Racial discrimination also includes everyday racism—day-to-day differential treatment such as a clerk or security employee following a member of a minority group around a department store with suspicion, a teacher calling on students of color less frequently, or the single racial/ethnic minority person in a group being marginalized or left out of a conversation. Discrimination can be intentional or unintentional, conscious or unconscious. The result of the behavior is racial discrimination, regardless of motivation, intentionality, or consciousness.

Racism and discrimination are manifested at multiple levels, including cultural, institutional, interpersonal, and individual. Racism and discrimination at the cultural level are reflected in the ideology of European American supremacy and can be seen in the cultural expressions and products of a society, such as art, literature, science, cinema, values, and standards of beauty and attractiveness. Racism and discrimination at the institutional level are expressed through the structures, policies, and practices of societal institutions such as the criminal justice, education, health care, political, and economic systems. Systematic disparities between racial/ethnic groups on outcomes reflect institutional racism. Racism and discrimination at the interpersonal level can be seen in interactions between individuals and relations between groups. Racism at the individual level is expressed in the beliefs, attitudes, and discriminatory behaviors of people.