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Racism is a name for an ideology that considers the race as a milestone for a society, meaning that by belonging to one race, one's position in a society is determined. Racism is sometimes defined as a belief that certain races are superior or inferior in relation with each other. Based on this definition, racism can be defined as racial intolerance. Even though, racism existed in different forms is the past, it proliferated as a separate ideology in the nineteenth century under the influence of progress in the natural sciences which gave a solid base for a scientific background. The most famous example is the anthropologists’ attempt to use Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin as a proof to differentiate between human races. Additional incentive for the rapid development of racism was imperialism, thanks to which the states in Europe and the USA whose residents were mainly of Caucasian race gained power over a large number of people of African-American and Asian origin. Through history, racism occasionally gained its institutional form, especially in the blended societies where segregation and racial discriminator was conducted. The most famous of intuitional forms of racism occurred in the southern states of the USA and apartheid in South Africa. However, the mostly extreme forms of racism are associated with nationalism and fascism. In the modern world, racism is considered incompatible with the principles of liberal democracy. Therefore, institutional forms of racism are almost everywhere rejected in theory. On the other hand, in many states, racial beliefs are manifested in implicit forms.
Racism is an ideology that makes human mankind differentiates according to their inborn biologically determined traits. The apartheid system in South Africa and segregation of African-Americans in the south of the USA was based on this ideology. Racist ideology is almost always associated with the idea that some races are more worthy, naturally superior than others, so it would be logical that they are in a superior position and are allowed to use force to maintain social position and prevent "spoiling" of their race. The most radical form of racist ideology in the modern history is Nazism, that differentiates Arians as the race of masters placing everyone else in the position of inferiors, races that needs to be exterminates (Jews, Gypsies). This was realized in Holocaust, Jews were persecuted as the members of lower race, and not according to their religious belief, even in the cases where their parents were Christians. Bhopal (2003) explains that based on inborn differences, the minority race is a certain ethnical or racial population that has different origin. European anthropologists developed racism at the end of the 19th century. By researching primitive cultures, anthropologists determined that their primitivism was conditioned by their cognitive capabilities. While doing the researches, they used Darwin's Theory of Evolution, explaining that different races are more or less progressive in their evolutionary progress in relation to the ancestors that they have in common, the apes. The anthropologists assumed that the higher level of measurement of a certain race was easily measurable with the shape of a skull. However, the further researches proved that there is no essential difference in the size of a skull between human races, and therefore the IQ in not linked with the size of the skull.
Many psychologist and sociologist investigate different forms of racism, its implication, and the effect that it has on people who are considered to be inferior in relation to the majority. Social psychology deals with the issues of racism that are in close relation with the society and the psychological impact that the society has on individuals when they are exposed to racism. Even though people do not initially believe that they are racists there are many studies that prove otherwise. One of such studies is a study that a teacher Jane Eliot conducted in 1968, initially after the murder of Marin Luter King Jr. (Sweat, 2013). Jane Eliot decided to conduct a social experiment by divided children in two groups: the ones that have blue eyes and the one that have brown eyes. Bearing on mind the turmoil time of civil riots that were occurring in the USA in the 60ies, this presents an early evidence that people recognized the importance of racial divisions and the impact that is had one individual lives.
In reality, there are many of those who would argue that institutional racism does not exist in every sphere of their lives. People choose to select someone just because their skin is white, or to act differently to someone who is of African-American or Asian origin. In a study Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener's tale, the author, Camara Phillips Jones, creates a framework for understanding racism in three levels. Jones (2000) suggests that those levels of racism are institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized (p. 1211). She makes an interesting parallel with a gardener and two types of flowers. Depending on the attention that the gardener gives to the flowers, their growth depends. In the case of this study, a gardener represents the government and all the power and authority that the government has. Jones (2000) believes that institutionalized racism is revealed in giving preference to certain races when accessing power and material benefits (p. 1212). People of certain color of the skin are preferred for a position or are given more favors in relation to others. The example of institutionalized racism is the notorious Tuskegee Study where African-American males were used by the medical staff in order to find a cure for syphilis and due to this they forced into death many subjects of the research. The second level of racism is personally mediated racism where prejudice and discrimination plays an important role. Prejudice relates to giving certain physical and mental traits to races and about their motives and intentions and discrimination to preferring one particular race above the other races. (Jones, p.1212, 1213). When institutionalized racism is combined with the personally mediated racism, then it places the minority into the submissive position. Finally, internalized racism is when the races that are the minority and who are the object of racism perceive and believe in the negative messages sent by the dominant races as the universal truth about themselves (Jones, p. 1213). This study illustrates the different perceptions of racism that still exist in the society.
When discussing racism it is also important to mention prejudices that are closely associated with certain races. There are many definitions of racism from sociological and psychological aspect but the universal definition of racism would be that racism is a general negatively manifested attitude towards certain ethnic or racial groups (Bhopal). Racial prejudices are the most dangerous, because they are easy for manipulation. Most of the racial prejudices are passive, and people do not show negative attitudes towards races that represent the minority. However, if the prejudices prevail in the society, then they present a threat for the society in general. In this case, the psychology of masses plays an important role. By making someone’s personal prejudice the opinion of the majority, the prejudice become a fertile soil for mass manipulation. The stereotypes and prejudices that exist as a general opinion about one races can be manipulated with the use of propaganda, such was the case in Germany prior and during the World War II.
Even though we live in a democratic society, the issue of racism is still under the magnifying glass by the sociologists and psychologists. Each day new organizations based on racism appear in Europe. There organizations are hidden under the veil of non-governmental organization. The most obvious are the ones that exist in countries with imperial history, where the cultural and racial diversity exist. The society needs to accept different forms of races without any prejudices towards them. A prerequisite for the creation of pluralism is the abounding the ideology of racism. New public philosophy of racial equality lies in the abandoning of the twisted ideal of racial supremacy of the minority.
References:
Bhopal, R. (2004). Glossary for terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 58:441-445 doi:10.1136/jech.2003.013466 Retrieved from: http://jech.bmj.com/content/58/6/441.full
Jones, C. P. (2000). Going Public: A Theortetic Framwork and A Garneres Tale. American Journal of Public Health. Vo. 90. No. 8. p. 1212-1215.
Sweat, Mellisa (2013). Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes: Jane Elliott's controversial Classroom Experiment on Racism, 1968. Dangerous Minds. Retrieved from: http://dangerousminds.net/comments/blue_eyes_brown_eyes_jane_elliotts_controversial_classroom_experiment_on_ra
