Racism

“Things like racism are institutional acts. It’s systemic. You might not know any bigots. You feel like, ‘well, I don’t hate black people, so I’m not a racist.’ But you benefit from racism just by the merit of the colour of your skin. There’s opportunities that you have — you’re privileged in ways that you may not even realize because you haven’t been deprived in certain ways. We need to talk about these things in order for them to change” (Dave Chappelle, 2006, Inside the Actors Studio).

In our experience, anti-racism education involves integrating an analysis of history and systemic/institutional processes with personal and particular (often emotional) experiences. An effective, brief definition of racism that works very well as a visual aid, and focal point for discussion, is this:

Racism = Racial Prejudice + Power

By Racial Prejudice we mean: a set of discriminatory or derogatory attitudes based on assumptions derived from perceptions about race/skin colour. Due to our historical ties with European Imperialism and colonization, Eurocentric ideals continue to reinforce the social “hierarchy” that was once created to justify the so-called “inferior” status of those who were not white, able-bodied Europeans. We live in a society that continues to privilege those who are “higher up” within this structure—meaning those who are the most like this “ideal.” An expression of racial prejudice (in words and/or actions) always originates from somewhere along this socially constructed “hierarchy,” and is directed at someone/a group in another location on the hierarchy. It should also be noted that being (or appearing) non-white, i.e. racialized, does not automatically mean that one is non-racist or unable to have racial prejudices.

We define Power as the “ability to influence others” in addition to having “access to resources, access to decision-makers to get what you want done, [and] the ability to define reality for yourself and others” (dRworks). It is important to understand that all power is relational, and different relationships can reinforce or disrupt one another. The importance of the concept of power to anti-racism is clear: racism cannot be understood without understanding that power is not only an individual relationship but a cultural one, and that power relationships are shifting constantly. Power can be used malignantly and intentionally, but need not be, and individuals within a culture may benefit from power of which they are unaware.

In sum, racism is…

• “a system of advantage based on race” (dRworks);
• occurs when an expression of racial prejudice emerges from a more powerful/privileged location within the hierarchy, and is directed at an individual/group in a less powerful/privileged location;
• “a system of oppression based on race”(dRworks);
• occurs where the target of the prejudice has less power than the perpetrator;
• is top-down and hierarchical;
• refers not only to social attitudes towards non-dominant ethnic and racial groups but also to social structures and actions that oppress, exclude, limit and discriminate against such individuals and groups. Such social attitudes originate in and rationalize discriminatory treatment;
• can be seen in discriminatory laws, residential segregation, poor health care, inferior education, unequal economic opportunity and the exclusion and distortion of the perspectives of non-dominant Canadians in cultural institutions (Thomas, 1987);
• refers to “a system in which one group of people exercises power over another on the basis of skin colour; an implicit or explicit set of beliefs, erroneous assumptions, and actions based on an ideology of the inherent superiority of one racial group over another, and evident in organizational or institutional structures and programs as well as in individual thought or behaviour patterns” (Henry & Tator, 2006, p. 352).

Overall, the key to understanding racism is its relationship to power. As we’ve already covered in the previous sections, everyone is racialized, including white people. White people may even experience racial prejudice. However, racism cannot be experienced by white individuals because of the power factor. Although other factors can certainly play into this equation (like gender, class, occupation, education, sexual orientation, ability etc.), it remains that white individuals (as well as those who “pass” as white) continue to receive unearned privileges that that they experience on a daily basis (often unconsciously) because they are not subjected to racism.

References:

• Dismantling Racism Works (dRworks). “What Is Racism?” Last updated in 2020.
• Henry, F., & Tator, C. (2006). The colour of democracy: Racism in Canadian society. 3rd Ed. Toronto, ON: Nelson.
• Thomas, B. (1987). Multiculturalism at work: A guide to organizational change. Toronto, ON, Canada: YWCA.