When dark or brown-skinned persons or Asians feel they have been slighted, especially by a white-skinned person(s), while abroad, they use the word racism in making their accusation.
But what is racism, how does it play out, and how does it affect the psychology of the sufferer and the world? Can it be alleviated?
Meaning of racism
Racism is the belief that different races possess clear-cut characteristics, abilities, or qualities, thereby distinguishing them as either inferior or superior to one another.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is the systemic oppression of a racial group for the social, economic, and political advantage of another. It is often based on social perceptions of biological differences between peoples. It also refers to political, economic, or legal institutions and systems that engage in or perpetuate discrimination based on race.
History of racism
Although discrimination began to exist centuries ago, racism became noticeable as a term and ingrained into people’s consciousness only recently, from the 20th century.
There is no consensus on the etymology of the term. According to some linguists, the root word of racism, which is race, was derived from the Arabic word ra’s, which means “head”, beginning, origin”, or the Hebrew rosh, which is similar. Oxford Dictionary first cited the word racism in a quote in 1903.
The term can be said to have arisen following the European colonisers’ activities in various parts of the world in the 1900s and the outcome of studies by scholars on the nature of the multiple races of human beings. However, the term was prominently associated with the anti-Semitism agenda propagated by the Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s. The anti-Semitism agenda revolved around the systematic discrimination, persecution and mass murder of Jews in Germany and the occupied territories during World War II.
Since the 1930s, racism has been adjudged to be the primary cause of the Holocaust, the genocide of the Serbs, the colonisation of Africa, Asia and the Americas (excluding North America), the racial discrimination in the United States of America, Apartheid in South Africa, and the continuous disrespect and profiling of people of colour by white-skinned people till today.
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Categories of racism
There are different types of racism, so numerous that they cannot all be contained herein. However, this piece will focus on the prominent types that affect our daily lives either at home, workplace, school, airport, or at various institutions.
Individual racism
This exists within individuals. This is when one subtly and either consciously or unconsciously expresses their prejudice or bias against another individual. It ultimately shapes the beliefs, attitudes and decisions of individuals.
Averse racism
Unlike conscious racism, averse racism occurs when a person’s unconscious negative assessment of racial or ethnic minorities is ascertained by a perpetual avoidance of interaction with other racial and ethnic groups. This is identified by more complex, wavering expressions and attitudes.
Institutional/structural racism
This refers to institutional cultural practices that perpetuate racial inequality. It is structured to give benefits and advantages to powerful groups in organisations and corporations at the expense of others through unfair conditions and protocols. This situation provides unequal access to opportunities for deprived persons or groups.
Cultural racism
Cultural racism occurs when individuals believe that their societal beliefs and customs – such as language, traditions and history – are superior to that of other cultures. A widespread acceptance of stereotypes regarding diverse ethnic or population groups by individuals accentuates this feeling. A great example of this type of racism is xenophobia, which is fear of, or aggression toward, group members towards another one.
Economic racism
This is the disparity highlighted due to social inequality, thereby deepening differences in wealth across racial groups. This is likely caused by oppression, inequality and prejudice against minority groups over a long period. Economic racism is a global predicament currently and causes issues such as affordability of home-ownership, lack of substantial household income, mass unemployment, lack of access to education, and inheritance dispute.
Racial discrimination
This is simply discrimination against someone based on their race, skin colour, ethnicity or religion. This form of racism entails individuals declining to conduct business with, socialise with, or share resources with people of a certain group. An ominous example of racial discrimination is the apartheid system enacted by the minority Afrikaner government in the 20th century.
Discrimination against refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and internally displaced persons is also racial discrimination.
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into socially-constructed racial groups in daily life due to race, skin colour and ethnicity. This means that through instituted policies, secluded individuals are forced to use different schools, hospitals, cafeterias, bathrooms, water taps or rent homes away from individuals, groups or governments who consider themselves superior.
Asides from the apartheid system in South Africa, the action of European colonisers in the 20th century, especially in Africa, that of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and Israel’s conduct against Palestinians is considered racial segregation.
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Apartheid vs racism
Apartheid is a form of racism itself. As earlier mentioned, this form of racism can be classified under racial discrimination and racial segregation.
The term apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning “separateness” or “the state of being apart”. It was an institutionalised system of discrimination in 1948 by the Afrikaner nationalist government, a white-skinned group that was, ironically, the minority in the country.
Apartheid legislation
Following its victory in the 1948 election, the National Party established discriminatory legislation stipulating how and where the minority white-skinned residents and the majority dark-skinned citizens could live, work, go to school and use public transportation.
The white-minority government implemented this form of government through five acts:
(a) The 1949 Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, the first apartheid law promulgated, in which black and coloured South Africans were banned from marrying whites;
(b) The 1950 Population Registration Act through which it classified residents in South Africa into four racial groups: “black”, “white”, “Coloured”, and “Indian”;
(c) The 1950 Group Areas Act through which it assigned different regions according to other races. People without permits who passed through certain places were classified as lawbreakers;
(d) The 1953 Reservation of Separate Amenities Act ensured that amenities in public areas such as hospitals, universities and parks were labelled separately according to race.
(e) The 1953 Bantu Education Act made sure that national education was segregated in South Africa
However, protests against these legislations by the majority black population sprung up across South Africa, spearheaded by the African Nationa Congress (ANC), the country’s dominant black-populated party. Although it was officially banned, the ANC utilised various methods to register their grievances and oppose the actions of the governments for over four decades.
But following negotiations that started in 1987 between the National Party and the ANC, the Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act was passed in 1991, which led to the repeal of apartheid laws and signalled an end to racial discrimination in South Africa.
Combating racism
International laws and conventions
Several international laws and conventions exist to address this menace.
For instance, Article 55 of the United Nations Charter, which was ratified in 1945, states that… “the United Nations shall promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”.
Also, Articles 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which the UN General Assembly adopted in 1948, states that if people are to be treated with dignity, they require economic rights, social rights, including education, and the rights to cultural and political participation and civil liberty. The articles also note that every individual is entitled to these rights “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.
In addition, Article 1 of the 1965 UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines racial discrimination as” …any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life”.
In a similar vein, Artice 1 of the 1978 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice stipulates that “all human beings belong to a single species and are descended from a common stock. They are born equal in dignity and rights and all form an integral part of humanity”.
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Laws enacted by western governments to tackle racism
Tackling racism has increasingly become a task for leaders across the world to resolve, especially for western nations, following numerous incidents. These incidents have put countries mainly in the northern hemisphere and some countries in the southern hemisphere in the spotlight regarding their acceptance and tolerance of human beings.
Various countries and continental organisations have made laws to combat racism. Some of them include:
United States
For example, the first major legislation in the US to combat racism is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. This has since been followed by subsequent acts in 1968, 1987 (Civil Rights Restoration Act) and 1991.
Also, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has become a piece of landmark legislation as it banned racial discrimination in voting in the country.
United Kingdom
The Race Relations Act 1965 was the first legislation in the United Kingdom to address racial discrimination. The legislation banned discrimination on the “grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins” in public places in the UK. Subsequent acts followed it in 1968 and 1976, which were amended by the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.
Other laws enacted to stem the tide of racism in the UK include the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Equality Acts of 2006 and 2010, respectively.
European Union
Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2001, prohibits discrimination “on any ground such as race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, disability, age or sexual orientation and also discrimination on the grounds of nationality”.
India
Section 153 A of the 1860 India Penal Code makes illegal the use of language that promotes discrimination or violence against people on the basis of race, caste, sex, place of birth, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other category.
Also, Articles 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the 1949 Indian Constitution (as amended), which stipulates the fundamental rights of all individuals in the country’s territory, outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth and gender.
Laws combating racism in Nigeria
In Nigeria, Section 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that “a citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person: –
“(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject; or
“(b) be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions”.
Also, Section 26(1) of the Cybercrime Act, 2015, states that any person who with intent:
- Distributes or otherwise makes available any racist or xenophobic material to the public through a computer system or network.
- Threatens through a computer system or network persons for the reason that they belong to a group distinguished by race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin, as well as a religion if used as a pretext for any of these factors.
- Insults publicly through a computer system or network persons for the reason that they belong to a group distinguished by race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion, if used as a pretext for any of these factors, commits an offence.
The offender shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years or to a fine of not more than N10 million or both such fine and imprisonment.
Diversity Programme
To effectively tackle racism, some organisations and institutions in western countries, where the menace is rife, have begun organising diversity programmes. Through these programmes, organisations and institutions aim to create a racially-balanced and respectful environment for all their employees and stakeholders.
Some of the steps undertaken by these organisations and institutions include:
- Redefining the company or organisation’s policy by introducing a well-defined strategy or definition of diversity, enacting and regular evaluation of plans that commit to diversity;
- Targeted recruitment of persons of colour to diversify the staff register;
- Collation of demographic data of employees and stakeholders to identify problems and areas of underrepresentation in organisations and institutions;
- Providing training for both leaders and subordinates on raising awareness about racial inclusion in the workplace, respecting differing opinions on ideas, suggestions, culture and tradition; and religion;
- Disciplining of erring staff found to have consciously or consciously used racial slurs to threaten or abuse their colleague(s);
- Directing employees to employee referral programmes to learn more about racial inclusion and diversity; and
- Constant assessment of managerial cadre to notice discrepancies in the number of coloured persons, women and people with disability and effectively address such lapses.
Diversity Visa
Furthermore, countries such as the US, UK, Canada and some in the European Union offer diversity visas to citizens of eligible countries. Especially those from the southern hemisphere, thereby providing an opportunity for people of colour to visit their countries. This will help them partake in cultural exchange programmes and probably obtain a permanent residency, better known as “Green Card”.
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