Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Racism in School Opportunities 3

Racism in Job Opportunities 4

Racism in Health 4

References 6

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Introduction

Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create
inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just
prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional
– is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others.

Racialism, the belief that humans may be divided into separate and exclusive biological
entities called “races”; that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of
personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioral features; and that
some races are innately superior to others. The term is also applied to political, economic, or
legal institutions and systems that engage in or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race or
otherwise reinforce racial inequalities in wealth and income, education, health care, civil rights,
and other areas. Such institutional, structural, or systemic racism became a particular focus of
scholarly investigation in the 1980s with the emergence of critical race theory, an offshoot of the
critical legal studies movement. Since the late 20th century the notion of biological race has been
recognized as a cultural invention, entirely without scientific basis.

Historically, those who openly professed or practiced racism held that members of low-
status races should be limited to low-status jobs and that members of the dominant race should
have exclusive access to political power, economic resources, high-status jobs, and
unrestricted civil rights. The lived experience of racism for members of low-status races includes
acts of physical violence, daily insults, and frequent acts and verbal expressions of contempt and
disrespect, all of which have profound effects on self-esteem and social relationships.

Racism was at the heart of North American slavery and the colonization and empire-
building activities of western Europeans, especially in the 18th century. The idea of race was
invented to magnify the differences between people of European origin and those of African
descent whose ancestors had been involuntarily enslaved and transported to the Americas. By
characterizing Africans and their African American descendants as lesser human beings, the
proponents of slavery attempted to justify and maintain the system of exploitation while
portraying the United States as a bastion and champion of human freedom, with human rights,

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democratic institutions, unlimited opportunities, and equality. The contradiction between
slavery and the ideology of human equality, accompanying a philosophy of human freedom and
dignity, seemed to demand the dehumanization of those enslaved.

By the 19th century, racism had matured and spread around the world. In many countries,
leaders began to think of the ethnic components of their own societies, usually religious
or language groups, in racial terms and to designate “higher” and “lower” races. Those seen as
the low-status races, especially in colonized areas, were exploited for their labour, and
discrimination against them became a common pattern in many areas of the world. The
expressions and feelings of racial superiority that accompanied colonialism generated resentment
and hostility from those who were colonized and exploited, feelings that continued even after
independence.

Racism in School Opportunities

Racism continues when those who have privilege do not want to abdicate any of it.
Prejudice and racism can take many forms in different cultures. This research is focused on one
particular form—racism in the United States on college and university campuses. Racism on a
college campus can thrive when there are not enough coalitions built, not enough questions being
asked, and not enough People of Color in positions of power to challenge and change the
institutionalized nature of it (Stevenson, 2017).

This study examined the associations among racial identity beliefs (centrality and public
regard), racial discrimination, and academic engagement outcomes among 1,659 African
American adolescents across two demographically distinct school districts, one predominantly
Black, working class (n = 1,100) and one predominantly White, middle class (n = 559). Across
these districts, the youths reported that race was a central aspect of their identity and
demonstrated varying levels of public regard. Racial discrimination was negatively associated
with academic curiosity and persistence, but this effect was moderated by gender and racial
identity. Our findings demonstrate the harmful influence of discrimination on the academic

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engagement of African American adolescents and the protective roles of racial identity beliefs
across gender and school racial contexts.

Racism in Job Opportunities

The black–white wealth gap remains large (Conley, 1999; Oliver and Shapiro, 1995).
Young Native Americans are incarcerated in federal prisons at higher rates than any other
minority racial group (Smelser and Baltes, 2001; Weich and Angulo, 2002). And some Asian
Americans, among other minority groups, have poorer access to health care services and
treatments than whites (Institute of Medicine, 2003). Such racial disparities are pervasive and
may be the result of racial prejudice and discrimination, as well as differences in socioeconomic
status, differential access to opportunities, and institutional policies and practices.

Examples of studies using methods that persuasively measure the presence or absence of
discrimination are rare, and appropriate data for measurement are often unobtainable. As a result,
there is little scholarly consensus about the extent and frequency of discrimination and how it
relates to continuing disadvantages along racial and ethnic lines (Fix and Turner, 1998).

Discrimination may persist in more subtle forms. Indeed, social psychological research
suggests that relatively automatic and unexamined cognitive processes, of which the holder (and
sometimes the target) may not be fully aware, can lead to discrimination (Devine, 1989; Fiske,
1998).

Racism in Health

The patterning of racial/ethnic inequities in health was an early impetus for research on
racism and health. First, rates of disease and death are elevated for historically marginalized
racial groups, blacks (or African Americans), Native Americans (or American Indians and
Alaska Natives), and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, who tend to have earlier
onset of illness, more aggressive progression of disease, and poorer survival (5, 134). Second,
empirical analyses have revealed the persistence of racial differences in health even after
adjustment for socioeconomic status (SES). For example, at every level of education and income,

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African Americans have a lower life expectancy at age 25 than do whites and Hispanics (or
Latinos), and blacks with a college degree or more education have a lower life expectancy than
do whites and Hispanics who graduated from high school. Third, research has also documented
declining health for Hispanic immigrants over time: Middle-aged US-born Mexican Americans
and Mexican immigrants who had resided 20+ years in the United States had a health profile that
did not differ from that of African Americans.

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References

https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/what-racism

https://aura.antioch.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1541&context=etds

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/10887/chapter/3

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0002831218816955

https://www.britannica.com/topic/racism