By
eHow Relationships & Family Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Listen for language that portrays people as different. While name calling may be racist, so is the use of any nicknames or labels based on appearance. Jokes about race or ethnicity are another example of racist language.
Step2
Recognize that stereotypes, whether positive or negative, are racist. When you believe a group of people is lazy or dishonest, you hold a racist belief. Yet so is the belief that one group is more athletic or smarter.
Step3
Watch for bullying when victims appear or act differently based on their culture. For example, bullies may target people who wear certain clothing based on their religion. Recognize that violence and even intimidation are extreme results of racism.
Step4
Understand that separating people due to race is segregation. The posting of "whites only" signs in U.S. and South African history are the most obvious example of segregation. Today's segregation continues in a less obvious ways in some private clubs and golf courses.
Step5
Know that limiting educational, job or housing opportunities is an illegal form of racism called discrimination. Discrimination cases continue to be tried in the court system.
Step6
Be aware that stopping someone to question them based on their outward appearance is called racial profiling. This is most evident when law enforcement individuals stop someone in their car or at a security checkpoint because of his skin color or ethnicity. Racial profiling is another form of racism.
Step7
Realize that a belief of superiority is a form of racism that can lead to enslavement or the death of large groups of people. Slavery in the United States is one example. These beliefs sometimes result in genocide, the systematic extermination of a group of people. Nazi Germany encouraged genocide against people who were Jewish. More recently, genocide has also been discovered in some African countries.
Comments
kickdrum said
on 2/25/2008 Good article with some valid points. One thing that is not mentioned today by most anyone is the growing amount of racism against European-Americans, or White people. What's worse is it's almost completely ignored! Barack Obama himself belongs to a church that doesn't allow whites! Obama once described the white race as “that ghostly figure that haunted black dreams.” His church, Trinity Church of Christ, which he is second in command behind the Pastor, says on their website, "We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black." Would a white candidate get away with such racist statements against blacks? Certainly not. He would be labeled a "racist" and forgotten about. Replace the word "black" with "white." in the above statement. Do this, and you have what's considered a "racist statement." We've been conditioned to think whites are the only race possible of racism.
A few months ago,
sunshowers said
on 12/30/2007 Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for such an intelligent, sensitively written article. Racism isn't always obvious, and I wish more people would take the time to learn how to recognize the underlying assumptions and beliefs beneath seemingly innocuous comments and jokes. I completely agree with your tip, we are all capable of harboring racist thoughts and opinions - learning to recognize this in ourselves is 90% of the battle.