Racism Types 1 Running head: RACISM TYPES

Types of Racism Amber Suedmeyer The Robert ! Mi""er Co""ege

Socio"ogy #1$ % &uman 'i(ersity 'r! )ohn Rasmussen March 1*th of +$1$

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Types of Racism Racism is a belief that some races are by nature superior to others. If someone is apart of a racist act it is considered to be discrimination based on such a belief. There are multiple types of racism such as cultural, individual and institutional. Cultural is defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or social group. Cultural racism is the societal recognition and preference of one groups contributions in comparison to another group within a multicultural society. A good example of this would be the school systems and how the institutions are ethnocentric and push the rightness of whiteness. This system of teaching is giving the children the idea that white is the norm and to base all opinions from this normality of whiteness. When teachers create a bias and unintended sense of white supremacy it creates white privilege; which gives the assumption white people can do more than colored people. It also can systematically give more opportunities and options to the normal group. Individual racism involves prejudice behavior demonstrated when someone responds to an act by degrading those of another race. Individual racism happens everyday in our economic and personal lives. People with negative prejudice will respond with name-calling or physical abuse in reaction to a personal belief or simply a stereotype. The elite that have the power to hire can

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refuse to give a job to a person of color. In these situations some people will insist that no injustice has happened. Another issue is how some people are in denial and feel that the schools are no longer segregated and now there is no excuse to use the lack of opportunity as a reason to use the race card. Institutional Racism is damaging to a persons confidence and creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. The impact that laws and practices can have can alter someones life in drastic ways if they do not comply with protocol. Though the intent is not to give more opportunity to one group than another it customarily happens anyway. For instance, a loophole for keeping things segregated in neighborhoods and schools is by using steering & tracking. Realtors and teachers with their own ethnocentrism belief can decide what directions someones life can go in. Just by being placed into a certain neighborhood and class can be the defiance of ones future and opportunities given. With out opportunities and obtained advantages it makes getting ahead or being the exception to the rule very difficult when being controlled by the institutions of America. If everyone does not cooperate and commit to changing innate and developed bias no resolution will ever come.