The concept of race and racism has long been disputed in the U.S..

Many scholars,

psychologists, biologists, and other qualified persons have debated both the existence of and the

importance of race and racism at length. Racism is not an attitude held by some; it is a concrete

system of oppression seen in almost every aspect of our world, specifically in the United States.

Making sure that participants all understand race and racism is crucial in order to have a

conversation about it. While some may say that racism can be aimed at any race, racism is a

system of oppression that flows directly from White people to and against People of Color, made

possible by the power difference between Whtie people and People of Color in America.

Understanding that racism is more than racial prejudice is essential when first bringing up

the topic of race. In her work, Tatum expresses that the definition saying racism in a “system of

oppression based on race” is that most production because of the other points that fall in line

with it (Source A). She says: “This definition is useful because it allows us to see that racism,

like other forms of oppression, is not only a personal ideology based on racial prejudice, but a

system​ involving cultural messages and institutional policies and practices as well as the beliefs

and actions of individuals” (Source A). Racism is more than a personal belief. Many scholars

subscribe to the theory that racism equals prejudice plus power, which is then used to argue why

People of Color cannot be racist. If power is needed to define racism, then People of Color in

american cannot be racist because they hold no power (social, economic, or political). Hoyt is

one scholar who agrees with this idea. In one of his works discussing race, he states that “This

line of thinking leads to the obvious-seeming conclusion that because in our society white people

are the dominant social group, black people, who do not control the levers of macro level,

institutional power, cannot be said to be racist” (Source C). Using this definition and
understanding of racism is the most productive because it shows how racism directly affects

marginalized groups in the United States.

It is also crucial to understand that race itself is a social construct, meaning that it is not

real and any meaning given to race is entirely made up by humans. This is important to recognize

when talking about racism because it emphasizes how abstract of a concept racism is when there

is no science to back it up. This is best described by Rainier Spencer here: “Too few people

know the difference between racism (which does exist) and race (which doesn’t). The reality of

the former implies nothing about the latter” (Source B). Seeing race as a concrete product of

racism or vice versa only further perpetuates the faulty idea that there is something that makes

White people somehow biologically better than People of Color; manifesting itself in social

systems like our government. DiAngelo comments on this: “This unequal distribution benefits

White People and disadvantages People of Color overall as a group. Racism is not fluid in the

U.S.; it does not flow back and forth, one day benefiting whites and another day (or even era)

benefitting people of color” (Source G). Knowing that Racism directly affects People of Color

can show how race was created to separate Whtie people form the undesirable “other.”

The most productive definition of racism is the one that clearly explains what racism

does. It makes life harder and more dangerous for People of Color, while simultaneously

benefitting White People. This then creates an ever growing rift between the two groups.